AI and Academic Honesty: Copying, Prejudice, and the Future of Scholarly Authenticity
In the educational institutions of Kazakhstan, a new era is dawning - one fueled not by politics or economic growth, but by artificial intelligence (AI). From writing centers to dormitories, students are integrating AI tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, and QuillBot into their academic lives, using them for everything from basic editing to generating entire essays.
While some students employ these resources for idea generation or slight revisions, others rely on them to complete their work from scratch. With these resources becoming more accessible, the question is no longer whether AI has a place in education; it's about how to ethically and effectively utilize this technology.
AI holds the potential for enriching Kazakh educational experiences. It can provide multilingual learners with instant, personalized feedback on their writing in Kazakh, Russian, and English. However, there are significant ethical concerns linked to plagiarism and bias that must be addressed.
Plagiarism, once defined by copying another person's work without proper attribution, becomes a grey area in the age of AI. When a student uses AI-generated content without modify, is it plagiarism? What about when the output is revised or used for structure and transitions? These questions call for a nuanced academic integrity policy.
Students who use AI for intellectual work may never understand the value of critical thinking, originality, and authorship that writing education is meant to instill. Universities in Kazakhstan must adapt, acknowledging that AI tools are not simply cheating devices, but require transparency and intent.
Moreover, the AI models themselves can reflect hidden biases, as they are often trained on data primarily from Western sources. This can reinforce Anglo-American scholarly practices, potentially depriving Kazakh students of the opportunity to create a unique academic voice that represents their local context. Additionally, AI tools may deepen educational inequalities by favoring content in English or Western examples, which can hinder students from rural areas or those who are more comfortable with Kazakh or Russian.
In response, universities should engage students in discussions about these biases, encourage the use of AI tools to support their work while emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and originality. Assessments can be designed to prioritize individual reflection and local interpretations, counteracting the potential cultural threats posed by AI.
Universities in Kazakhstan have the opportunity to lead on this issue, taking advantage of their multilingual and multicultural environment to develop AI policies that are attuned to local realities. This will involve updating academic integrity policies, investing in AI literacy training for faculty, staff, and students, and hosting workshops on the ethical use of AI.
It's crucial to remember that AI should supplement, rather than replace, the learning process. Education's core principles of academic honesty and intellectual growth must remain at the forefront.
The author of this piece, Michael Jones, is a writing and communications instructor at the School of Social Science and Humanities, Nazarbayev University, located in Astana.
Additional Insights:- The Kazakh government, through the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education, has guidelines in place to protect academic integrity in AI usage, such as prohibiting AI for sensitive research and regulating its use in data processing and experimental work[5].- Kazakhstan's educational institutions, like Nazarbayev University and the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI), are investing in AI projects that address cultural and linguistic diversity, such as the development of multilingual AI models to reduce cultural bias[3].
Science and technology are integral to the conversation about AI in education, as they shape the development and application of these tools. For instance, universities in Kazakhstan are investing in AI projects to create multilingual models, addressing cultural biases and catering to the country's multilingual environment (education-and-self-development).
Moreover, the ethical implications of AI in education extend beyond plagiarism. The risk of reinforcing Anglo-American scholarly practices and widening educational inequalities calls for a thoughtful approach to AI implementation, focusing on critical thinking, originality, and local interpretations (education-and-self-development).
