The newest rendition of Chat-GPT marks another advancement in artificial intelligence (AI), but, with this evolution, the school must continue to take steps to avoid its use for plagiarism purposes. The AI’s new advancements have pushed a new landmark in the exponential growth of large language models. However with this increase in competence, comes an equal rise in those who would use it to commit plagiarism.
GPT-5, OpenAI’s most recent iteration of the Chat-GPT AI tool is a significant step forward in the bot’s abilities to help with tasks. Among GPT-5’s updates, it now has the ability to fact check itself, produce more accurate information and have conversation continuity, allowing for it to remember content from a much earlier point in the chat than previously.
“This was a big summer for AI,” Computer Science Department Head Kurt Tholking said. “GPT5 scores higher on benchmarks for math and coding and can now handle up to 100 times more tokens than GPT4. Token costs were also reduced significantly in GPT5. In GPT4, users had several model options and could select between them. In GPT5, the model used was selected automatically based on the input.”
Essentially, GPT5 is able to handle more tokens, the fundamental units of text provided by the user for LLM’s (Large Language Models) to process, at a lower price.
“The other big difference between the two … is that GPT5 was more direct in its answers, whereas GPT4 had more ’emotions’,” Tholking said. “Simply put, GPT4 agreed with what you said, no matter what you said. GPT5 is more practical and will challenge you.”
However GPT-5’s newest feature is an improved ability to “vibe-code”.
“With the advances in AI over the last year, it is now possible to write entire programs without writing a single line of code.” Tholking said. “Using plain English prompts, anyone can now use AI to generate, edit and sometimes run entire programs by just describing an idea. The ‘coder’ will sit back and relax while the AI does the work. ”
While this advancement in technology could be seen as a worry, Tholking isn’t phased, as he believes that the values of character and leadership instilled by the school prevent the usage of AI. He also sees that if an instance were to happen, the focus would be on discussion with the student involved.
“The recent improvements in AI’s ability to write code don’t change the fact that it’s not a student’s own work and should not be presented as such.” Tholking said. “As a school, we aren’t in the business of trying to ‘catch’ students who try to plagiarize. We seek to strengthen each boy’s character. That involves teaching boys the concepts, virtues and skills that we hope will help them avoid instances of plagiarism. But we also understand everyone makes mistakes. Should those occasions arise, the first step is to have a discussion with the boy about his actions.”
GPT 5’s abilities also extend into the humanities, as it is now capable of deeper, more human reasoning, a strong worry for the English Department, as the plagiarism of content is becoming all too common.
“We are worried about ongoing advances in AI and the temptation of resorting to it in lieu of doing the important intellectual work of writing,” English Department Head Michael Morris said. “But we have been worried since GPT’s introduction, and we have been devising approaches to this work to help students avoid the temptation.”
The last school year saw a rise in the application of in-class writing, through the anti-cheat software Digiexam, and it appears the trend will continue for the time being, along with the possible addition of handwritten work.
“We will continue to rely more and more on in-class writing by hand or on Digiexam,” Morris said. “We see AI as a possible research tool and/or study aid if used in accordance with a teacher’s directions and the St. Mark’s Honor Principle and Academic Honesty Policy.”
The shift to solely using in-class writing has been met with mixed reactions, however, as students must prepare to tackle the challenge of having less time and more preparation to complete their work.
“I do think it’s fair,” sophomore Jack Wilson said “I understand that there are definitely people out there who would use (Chat-GPT) to write an essay; that happened during the outside class essays right when Chat-GPT first released so I understand the logic, but that doesn’t mean I’m a huge fan of it.”
The rushed environment that in-class essays provide makes students feel like they aren’t producing their best work, which Wilson feels is easier in the lower stress climate outside of school.
“It was definitely a big change coming in from writing outside of class all throughout middle school,” Wilson said “And I would say I prefer not writing the essays in class because it gives me more time to think and to really gives me more time to make my essay better and expand on it to the most that it can be.”
The mark that AI is leaving on the world continues to permeate into the lives and work of students, but through the implementation of character and leadership and evolving examination parameters, the school will continue to push for ways to preserve the integrity of students’ content.
