AI cheating accusations: Students hire lawyers to protect themselves

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When college students search for lawyer Adrian Hearn, they often become petrified and desperate. Teachers accused them of using artificial intelligence to cheat.

Suddenly, students are competing to successfully protect themselves or risk their college careers falling apart. In some cases, sanctions such as a semester-long suspension resulting from a violation of academic integrity can have devastating effects. After all, cheating is often considered a disqualifier by graduate schools, potential employers, licensing boards, and governments.

“Unless there is some way to negotiate a resolution, the consequences will be with the students from that point forward,” said Hahn, founder of the education law firm Hahn Legal Group (APC).

There is no tally of how many American college students have faced accusations of AI fraud this year or earlier, but law firms specializing in education law have been busy handling cases. Some of their clients are wealthy, attend some of the most prestigious universities in the country, and can afford legal representation.

Others come from poor families, attend state universities, and have little financial means. Hahn said the impact could be particularly devastating for students attending college on scholarships.

What these students have in common is a real fear that accusations of AI cheating will destroy their futures before they even begin.

Accusations of AI cheating in schools: Getting to the truth

Hahn’s firm represents students across California. She said the volume of inquiries has skyrocketed over the past two years.

Hahn said many students accused of cheating are not actually using AI to complete assignments or tests, or are unaware that their use of AI violates policies that may not be clearly communicated.

Some students use AI but share extenuating circumstances. One student represented by Hahn integrated AI into her lessons at a time when she was going through some serious personal troubles. They had multiple jobs and their parents were also experiencing a health crisis. School authorities were sympathetic to the situation and avoided overly punitive consequences even after Mr. Hahn’s protests.

However, some students do not disclose damaging or damning information about their use of AI, which Hahn’s team first discovered during the course of their investigation.

“Until we know the truth, we can’t give good advice,” she said. “I still have clients who lie to me. It’s a waste of money and time.”

The cost of hiring representation varies by case, but can range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars if the student decides to involve the court.

What a lawyer can do

At any given time, LLF National Law Firm has as many as 250 clients working with attorneys on AI-related academic integrity violations, said Thomas Terrill, director of the firm’s National Education Defense Practice Group.

Mr. Terrill said AI-related fraud cases currently make up a significant portion of LLF National Law Firm’s caseload. Like clockwork, inquiries spike around the time of midterm and final exams.

Terrill said that while lawyers cannot represent students in school administrative hearings, their legal expertise can “level the playing field” where administrators hold tremendous power over students’ lives.

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In Terrill’s experience, some schools are trying to fairly evaluate accusations of AI misconduct. But he has also dealt with presumptions of student negligence based on rushed investigations, limited access to evidence, and misunderstandings about how AI works.

“Many students feel that they are in the position of proving their innocence, rather than the institution having a clear burden of proof,” Terrill said in an email.

Lawyers interviewed by Mashable had strong opinions about this dynamic. Andrew Miltenberg, a senior litigation partner at the law firm Nesenoff & Miltenberg, observed that the power dynamic has shifted away from students and toward “faculty territory.” He said some professors have been surprisingly lenient in accusing and adjudicating AI misconduct.

Miltenberg characterized the AI ​​programs used to “check” for fraud and plagiarism as “primitive” and prone to false positives.

What lawyers recommend to defendant students

When a student is accused, they will need a defense strategy.

LLF National Law Firm advises clients to gather evidence of the author’s background and work process. This evidence may be substantiated by Google Docs or Microsoft Word history. Timestamps, summaries, notes, and research materials are also important.

Terrill said the company reviews metadata, compares student writing samples and scrutinizes instructor communications about the assignments in question.

Other factors are also important, such as neurodivergence and non-native English speaking. Terrill said AI detection tools commonly used by teachers are more likely to falsely flag the work of these students than of other neurotypical English speakers.

Terrill said it’s important to know which programs because if the accusations are based on the findings of an AI detection tool, students could dispute its authenticity.

Preparing for a fast schedule

Students don’t have much time to gather the necessary evidence, Miltenberg said.

That’s because, in his experience, academic integrity cases move much faster than other misconduct and integrity cases, which can take months to investigate because they involve sex discrimination, harassment, and sexual assault.

“Boom, boom, boom,” Miltenberg said of the AI ​​fraud allegations.

The students will be charged on Tuesday, meet with government officials two days later, and could be given an ultimatum that Friday. If they don’t agree to sanctions, the charges will be forwarded to a hearing board, the agency’s board that reviews the case and decides the student’s fate.

“It’s really moving very fast,” Miltenberg said. “So it’s not great for regaining balance after a situation that most students would find fist-pumping.”

what does the resolution look like

Hahn said administrators later told the students she represented that they should not hire attorneys. She believes the main reason for this is that universities and university law enforcement agencies are “completely overwhelmed” with AI fraud cases and want to resolve them as quickly as possible. Of course, legal representatives can extend the process by requesting evidence, etc.

Hahn described one case in which a student was accused of using AI for failing to cite a specific formula in a math assignment. As a result, the professor disqualified the student, but Hahn managed to overturn the result.

If the use of AI is revealed, Hahn and her team know the administrators and can ask them for alternative sanctions that don’t jeopardize students’ futures before the hearing. This may result in strict conditions for continuing your education, such as probation or required medical leave.

“The layoffs and the failures will last a lifetime,” she says. “If they can go back to college and get their degree, it was the worst moment of their life, but they can get through it. People have their worst moments in life.”

However, leniency is less of an option if the student has a history of cheating or academic integrity violations.

Why are lawsuits so complicated?

Miltenberg said litigation is a risky strategy because courts do not give students anonymity in these cases. Therefore, suing the school means students must “accuse” themselves in order to “get justice,” he added. The resulting court documents are publicly searchable and include the names of students associated with academic integrity violations.

Professor Miltenberg said the way these cases are currently handled leaves all students in potential bondage.

“There is no clear path forward for any agency at this point,” he said, noting that any signs of wrongdoing could trigger an investigation. At the same time, what that looks like is subjective to the faculty member or teaching assistant who made the claim.