German court rules that using AI in university is cheating, but Google Search isn’t

The Kassel Administrative Court has ruled that using AI in an academic setting without disclosing it constitutes academic dishonesty and cannot be compared to the use of search engines.

The University of Kassel in central Germany suspected that two academic works – a master’s term paper and a bachelor’s thesis – were largely written with the help of AI, according to Legal Data.

While one student admitted to using AI, another raised suspicions because of poor knowledge of the topic during discussions, despite having presented a very strong thesis.

The students brought their cases to the court, which had to decide whether the use of AI should be prohibited, given that using technology like Google Search is allowed.

The court concluded that when students use search engines, they must read, select, and verify the material, and write their own papers from it.

In contrast, AI provides direct phrasing, structure, and the line of reasoning.

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The court also identified signs of AI-generated text, including “frequently used, excessively repetitive positive phrasing in relation to neutral technical content.”

Repeated summaries and the reintroduction of ideas were also flagged as potential signs that the text was written by AI.

The court said that a single use of AI without attribution can be considered academic dishonesty, although a simple AI-based spell-check doesn’t constitute deception.

In the United States, 69% of college students use AI in coursework at least once a month, according to a Gallup survey. Nearly half (42%) reported that AI use is discouraged in their college but allowed in certain circumstances.

​While the widespread availability of generative AI tools hasn’t led to a spike in academic cheating, AI-enabled dishonesty accounts for more and more cheating cases.

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