Artificial intelligence use by Leaving Cert students in coursework could see them lose all marks

The State Examinations Commission is to warn Leaving Cert students that use of material generated by artificial intelligence in coursework may result in candidates forfeiting all marks.

Some 29 of the 41 subjects in the Leaving Cert require projects, practicals, essays or other forms of coursework to be completed in advance of the written exams in June, and such work can account for up to 40 per cent of marks.

However, there is concern in education circles that the rapid development of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and others allows students to generate essays, images or video within seconds.

In order to maintain the integrity and fairness of the exam process, the commission has revised its instructions to determine the authenticity of coursework submitted by candidates for assessment.

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The updated instruction makes clear that any material generated by artificial intelligence systems will be treated in the same way as other material that a candidate has not generated themselves.

In addition, candidates must complete their coursework under the supervision of their class teacher so the teacher can monitor progress on a regular basis, and be in a position to verify that the work is the candidate’s own.

In a statement, the SEC said it maintains a watching brief on all issues that have the potential to threaten the security and integrity of the examinations, including new and emerging technologies.

It said the starting point for candidates completing coursework is that the work submitted for marking must be their “own, authentic, unaided work”.

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“The SEC has updated documentation relating to coursework for the State examinations to include an instruction in relation to material generated by AI systems,” it said.

“The instruction makes clear that any material generated by AI systems will be treated in the same way as any other material that the candidate has not generated themselves. Including it without quoting it as the work of an AI system will be considered plagiarism, which can result in the forfeit of all marks for the coursework component.”

It also noted that where any material generated by AI systems is included in a coursework submission and is properly quoted or referenced, no credit will be awarded for any of that material itself.

It said credit can only be awarded for the effective use of this material in the support or development of the candidate’s own work.

“This is the established practice that already applies to the inclusion of quoted material, (whether that be text, images or other forms of material) created by human authors,” it said in a statement.

It added that it is the responsibility of the candidate to fulfil exam requirements, which includes providing a basis for proper authentication by the class teacher.

“Candidates must complete the coursework under the supervision of the class teacher so that the teacher can monitor progress on a regular basis and be in a position at the coursework completion date to verify that the work is the candidate’s own individual work,” the SEC added.