Exam cheating with AI: BBC News Review

Will artificial intelligence lead

to a rise in exam cheating?

This is News Review from BBC

Learning English.

I'm Beth. And I'm Phil.

Make sure you watch to the end to learn all the vocabulary

you need to talk about this topic.

And remember: subscribe to our channel, like this video,

and try the quiz on our website.

Now, today's story:

Could cheating in exams be about to get easier?

Artificial Intelligence apps, like ChatGPT,

are capable of generating human like text. Teachers and academics

are worried that this might make it impossible to tell

whether a text was written by a student or a computer.

Some experts say this could be a positive development.

You've been looking at the headlines.

What's the vocabulary?

We've got 'fuelling', 'desperate for', and the 'dark ages'.

This is News Review from BBC

Learning English.  

Let's have a look at our first headline.

Yes, this one is from City AM:

So, AI,

that's artificial intelligence apps, are allowing plagiarism -

that's a type of cheating.

According to a barrister, which is a type of lawyer.

But we are looking at 'fuelling'. Now, Phil,

I know this word fuel,

I put it in my car.

Well, yes, I'm sure you do, because 'fuel' as a noun is what you put in a car.

If you don't put fuel in, it won't go anywhere.

But this headline used it as a verb, and what it means by this

is that these apps are making plagiarism easier.

Yes, that's right. Now 'fuel' can also mean 'to encourage'.

So, if you do something you enjoy, then you fuel your passion for it

if you keep doing it.

Yes. If a famous person talks about their relationship,

they might fuel speculation about their personal life.

That's true.

Well, we hope that we are fuelling your passion for learning English.

Let's look at that again.

Let's have our next headline. This one is

from the Mirror:

So, teachers in the UK

are worried that AI is going to write whole essays for students.

That's definitely cheating.

But we are looking at the word 'desperate'.

OK. We've got it here in the phrase 'desperate for help',

which is very common.

And if you're 'desperate for' something,

it means that you really badly want or need something. Now,

in the context of this story,

it means that teachers really, really want help knowing how to deal

with students using AI apps.

Yeah and there are lots of things that you can be 'desperate for'. So,

for example, if you are really thirsty, then you're desperate for water.

If you are very ambitious,

then you might be desperate

for a chance to show what you can do. Now, 'desperate' on its own

has a slightly different meaning.

If you were in a desperate situation,

it means you're in a situation that is really bad.

So, you can be desperate for something,

but if you are just desperate on its own, then

this is quite negative.

OK, let's look at that again.

Next headline, please.

Yes, this one is from the Financial Times:

So, the writer of this story, thinks that ChatGPT,

that's a type of AI,

will force the education system to improve how exams work.

Now, we're looking at the phrase

'the dark ages'. Now, Phil,

I've been doing some research, and it seems that

the Dark Ages were the period of time between the sixth and tenth century.

So, that's over a thousand years ago.

Why are we talking about it now?

Well, you're not wrong.

That's the literal meaning. But here

it's an exaggeration. When we force something out of the dark ages,

it doesn't mean that it's over a thousand years old.

It means that it is very out-of-date, and we want to bring it up-to-date.

OK. So, here

it's suggesting that the exam system is out-of-date, and this

AI is going to force it to update.

Yes. And we could also use dark ages

if we're talking about someone's attitudes.

If you say that someone's attitudes are out of the dark ages,

then it means you think their opinions are very old fashioned

Yeah. And when we use in this way,

it's quite negative, isn't it?

OK, let's look at that again.

We've had 'fuelling' - making something happen

'Desperate for' - you badly need something.

The 'dark ages' -

something is old fashioned. Don't forget

there's a quiz on our website at www.bbclearningenglish.com.

We'll see you next time.

Thanks for joining us, bye. Bye.