Fuss over AI detectors in university assessments is unnecessary
Academic assessment needs to be rethought so that a degree gives students, universities and employers confidence that the graduate has the requisite skills for an entry-level role.
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Singapore Management University students present their projects and take questions from peers and instructors during an assessment component.
PHOTO: SMU
Justina Tan and Ben Chester Cheong
It started as a dispute. Plagiarism detector Turnitin flagged an essay by an Adelphi University student in New York as “100 per cent” AI-generated – which the undergraduate promptly denied. Two other software detectors assessed his essay as entirely human-written.
In January 2026, a New York court annulled the Turnitin finding and ordered it removed from the student’s record, citing problems with both the basis of the university’s decision and appeal process.