AI programs like ChatGPT can simplify many work steps and research projects and help with projects. However, in university or school, one should be careful not to cheat. This is what a student is accused of, who is now striking back – with ChatGPT.
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What is the student accused of? Haishan Yang was a student at the University of Minnesota in the USA. For an exam in his doctoral studies, he was supposed to write 3 essays within 8 hours. After that, he could have started working on his dissertation.
According to techspot.com, all examiners expressed skepticism about the work of the 33-year-old, who wrote the exam from abroad. They accused him of having used ChatGPT. For this, he was expelled from the university in 2024. However, Yang sued the university for over 1.2 million euros.
Yang defends against the accusations using ChatGPT
What did the examiners say about the use of AI? The examiners had the feeling that Yang did not write the essays alone, for several reasons:
- There were irrelevant answers that were not discussed in class
- Acronyms were used that are not commonly used in the field, which were frequently found in the answers ChatGPT provided
- They presented the questions to ChatGPT and found similarities in format, language, structure, and content
According to the professors, Yang had also attracted attention in the past with such cases. For this, he received a warning.
How is Yang responding to this? Yang denies the accusations and states that the AI tool probably used the same sources as he did. He also said in a statement (via mprnews.org) that the methods to expose AI are unreliable – especially against individuals whose first language is not English. Accordingly, he filed a complaint, which the university rejected.
Following this, Yang filed a lawsuit against the university and his professor. In a federal lawsuit, he seeks damages amounting to $575,000 (approximately €548,000) and in the defamation lawsuit $760,000 (approximately €724,000).
According to techspot.com, Yang used ChatGPT’s help to file the lawsuits.
AI programs like ChatGPT are already changing many work structures, even in schools and universities. This will only grow over time. Many employers prefer to rely on AI rather than on newly graduated Gen Z students: Many employers would rather hire an AI or a robot than a university graduate from Gen Z
