- Education officials are trying to stop students from using OpenAI's ChatGPT.
- Several school districts have banned the bot, citing fears of plagiarism and false information.
Schools are taking steps to stop students from using OpenAI's ChatGPT to cheat.
Earlier this month, the New York City Department of Education blocked the chatbot from school networks and devices across the district, citing concerns over plagiarism, as well as the bot's accuracy.
Seattle Public Schools and Los Angeles Unified School District put similar limits on the use of the bot in December.
The Los Angeles Unified School District told the Washington Post the ban was preemptive and aimed at protecting "academic honesty.
Seattle Public Schools also cited cheating concerns for the ban, per GeekWire. A spokesperson told the publication that "Seattle Public Schools does not allow cheating and requires original thought and work from students."
Baltimore County Public Schools in Maryland has also reportedly blocked access to the site on student devices and browsers, although it hadn't changed its policies as a result of the technology.
In Australia, jurisdictions including Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania, have blocked students from accessing ChatGPT on school internet networks, per ABC.
The technology has also unnerved some universities around the world. Professors have said that students are already trying to pass off AI-generated content as their own.
One of France's top universities, Sciences Po, banned the use of ChatGPT and other AI tools last week. The university said students caught flouting the new rules could be thrown out, per Reuters.
"The ChatGPT software is raising important questions for educators and researchers all around the world, with regards to fraud in general, and particularly plagiarism," a spokesperson for the university told Reuters.
In India, Bangalore's RV University banned students from using ChatGPT. The university said it would conduct surprise checks on students suspected of using the technology, asking them to redo the content on their own, local media reported.