“In my university, in Saint-Gall, there were a lot of people eliminated for plagiarism,” recounts a student I met in front of Uni Mail. Without necessarily cheating, they reformulated with ChatGPT.” His comrades would perhaps have benefited from the first Zero Plagiarism Week, organized from this Monday until Friday by the Library of the University of Geneva (UNIGE).
On the menu: two face-to-face modules and four online upon registration, including a workshop on plagiarism and generative AI (GAI) or another on copyright. Information stands will be open during lunch breaks in the Uni Dufour, Uni Mail, Bastions and CMU libraries. You can find explanatory flyers and even a board game dedicated to the question. The opportunity for students to perfect their knowledge in the subject, and in particular on the good uses of AGI, such as ChatGPT.
If the problem of plagiarism is addressed at Secondary II and at University, the students are “groping around a little”, notes Laure Mellifluo, coordinator at the UNIGE Library. Although there are no statistics on the issue, most of the time, “it is not voluntary”: “These are people who think that rewriting a small piece of text is not serious, or who are under stress,” she explains. “The Internet has made it easier to copy and paste and, with AGI, this has accelerated the phenomenon. We look at how to use them, cite them, and we insist on transparency to be able to ensure traceability.”
According to Professor Kilian Seeber, vice-dean of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting, the problem with AGI lies upstream, revealing a certain lack of knowledge: “Our job is to explain how the model works,” he emphasizes. . The machine does not think, does not reflect, it just calculates statistical probabilities.”
Kilian Seeber recalls that the University has already acted regarding the use of AGI (see box) by issuing directives: “We must reference the use of the machine.” However, “the big challenge for us is that this is continually evolving,” he explains, referring in particular to the recent possibility for these IAGs to access data in real time: “It’s great, but potentially a source of conscious or unconscious abuse.
Authorized, but limited
At UNIGE, a position paper on the use of AI, published in July, emphasizes individual responsibility and academic integrity. The Plagiarism Directive is being amended to adapt it to AGIs. At the University of Lausanne, where this technology is also accepted, its use is specified in an FAQ. There is also a code of integrity to respect. Training is offered at both universities.
