ChatGPT cheating scandal erupts at Florida high school

Students in a Florida high school’s elite academic program have been accused of using ChatGPT and artificial intelligence to write their essays, according to a report.

The head of Cape Coral High School’s prestigious International Baccalaureate Program (IB) flagged the suspected misconduct to staff in a flurry of internal emails that were later obtained by a local NBC affiliate.

“There have been some IB papers that are questionable in a few ways,” the staffer wrote this month in one message. “Including being very different styles of writing from previously submitted papers.”

In another internal email, she wrote how several students admitted to using ChatGPT — a newly introduced chatbot that can give detailed and thoroughly researched answers to detailed questions using the information it scrapes from the internet — or another AI program to author work they were submitting as their own.

“I have already had a few come forward to me and we are working through it,” she wrote.

Elsewhere, the coordinator said she intended to confront suspected cheaters who don’t admit wrongdoing.

Those who don’t cop to using AI for their assignments will face “more severe consequences” if school officials later confirm misconduct, she noted.

The scandal spurred the staffer to warn parents about the illicit use of AI — and the potentially life-altering consequences that could follow.

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She wrote that students who submit fraudulent work would not graduate from the intensely competitive IB program — which only admits top performers worldwide.

“Our teachers must authenticate all student work prior to submission to IB,” she wrote. “If they are unable to authenticate a student’s work then the student will not have successfully completed the IB program.”

A staffer who received one of the emails told The Post that the scandal has rocked the school community.

“These are some of the brightest, most hard-working and competitive kids we have,” the teacher said. “It’s actually kind of heartbreaking to see this going on. But it’s only a handful. At least for now.”

The educator said she hoped the fear of detection — and potential punishment — would serve as a deterrent.

The IB coordinator noted in one email how traditional plagiarism-detecting programs are ineffective against ChatGPT and similar programs because they produce varying language with each use.

School officials are now analyzing student Chromebook laptops to vet suspiciously articulate work.

In a statement to The Post, the IB program said it has several safeguards to prevent cheating, including regular meetings with students that demonstrate their command of various subjects.

That approach helps to “ensure that the student work is a true reflection of what they understand,” a spokesperson said.

“From a young age, IB students are expected to be able to tell right from wrong,” she said in the statement. “To this end, all students participating in IB programmes are expected to act honestly, responsibly, and ethically.”

Hoping to curb spiraling cheating fears, the makers of ChatGPT launched a new tool to detect AI-generated work this month — but warned it isn’t foolproof.

Several major school districts — including the New York City Department of Education —have already banned ChatGPT and AI programs from school devices and networks.

“We do not tolerate cheating. Students who violate the Code of Conduct and Academic Integrity Policy will be disciplined,” the Lee County School District told NBC 2.

“As part of our ongoing cybersecurity efforts, our Information Services team continues to strengthen Chromebook security features to block the use of AI from aiding any student work.