Popular Discussion Platform Will Enable College And K12 Instructors To Identify AI-Generated Writing

Packback is launching detection feature for content generated by ChatGPT and other AI-powered writing tools

Chicago, IL /PRNewswire/ - To help instructors respond to the growing popularity of ChatGPT and other AI-driven writing platforms, Packback today announced the upcoming release of a first-of-its-kind "AI-generated content detection" feature into its fast-growing suite of writing-oriented curriculum products. For Spring 2023 courses, Packback will have the ability to detect and flag AI-generated content embedded into its student-led discussion platform, Packback Questions, and its essay writing and research coaching platform, Deep Dives.

"Now that models like ChatGPT exist, it opens up a whole other level of uncertainty. These tools will continue to grow and transform education and the work world, both positively and negatively, much in the same way that the introduction of the internet and search engines transformed the world a generation ago," said Nestor Pereira, Vice Provost of Academic & Learning Technologies at Miami Dade College. "Now more than ever, it's critical for higher ed institutions to proactively invest in tools that use AI to support instructors. Platforms like Packback are a model for the profound promise of AI in education as a tool to not only help students grow as writers, but also enable instructors to navigate and respond to the impact of tools like ChatGPT."

Packback is an award-winning learning platform for improving writing, critical thinking, and motivation skills. Unlike so-called generative AI models, which power tools like ChatGPT and can be used to generate complete passages of text on behalf of a user, Packback uses AI to coach students to build their critical thinking and writing skills. Using its unique instructional AI, Packback provides students line-by-line feedback on the efficacy and clarity of their writing alongside explanations of why they received a given piece of feedback to teach them how to improve their work. The detection of AI-generated content expands and builds upon Packback's existing automatic content moderation capabilities which include plagiarism detection, profanity detection, source quality detection, and more.

"As models like ChatGPT only continue to grow in popularity, detection of AI-generated writing is only one part of the picture. Higher education institutions, K-12 schools, and the education technology community alike have an opportunity – and a responsibility – to design new assignment types that coexist alongside these emerging models," says Dr. Craig Booth, Chief Technology Officer at Packback. "Tomorrow's world of work will be one where professionals collaborate alongside generative AI, which means it's more important than ever to help students build the skills of critical questioning, editing, curation, and self-reflection. We're excited to continue exploring the role that instructional AI can play in helping today's students navigate a rapidly changing and increasingly digital world."

Packback's proprietary AI and machine learning technology provides inquiry-based online discussion and long-form writing support to over 8,000 instructors and over 1.5 million students, who have posted 87 million questions and responses to date through its platform. Research at a growing number of higher education institutions has found improvements to students' academic outcomes, self-reported writing confidence, and instructor-reported writing quality as a result of their use of Packback.