Skip to content
#generative ai Open access

How strong is the evidence in generative AI-related academic misconduct allegations? A mixed-methods analysis

Sep 2026 · International Journal for Educational Integrity
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education

Abstract

Since the public release of ChatGPT in late 2022, higher education institutions have experienced an increase in academic misconduct allegations related to suspected generative AI (GenAI) misuse. A necessary part of these processes is the inclusion of evidence to support and strengthen allegations. To date, no systematic framework exists for understanding trends and patterns in GenAI student academic misconduct and classifying the types and probative value of evidence presented in these allegations. This study addresses that gap through a mixed-methods analysis of 1,162 GenAI-related misconduct case records spanning January 2023 to December 2025 at one regional Australian university. Analysis confirmed an increase in case volumes over the study period and produced an empirically derived 15-code evidence taxonomy, which was applied across the 1,855 evidence items against three probative quality credentials drawn from legal evidence scholarship: relevance, credibility, and inferential force. Results point to patterns across time that differ across evidence types, including an increasing use of fabricated references and student admissions of AI use, and a decrease in allegations being raised without support. These findings highlight a critical gap in current misconduct policies: institutions lack explicit criteria for determining what constitutes reliable evidence in GenAI misconduct cases. To address this, the study offers three contributions: first, an empirically derived taxonomy that categorises the types of evidence used in GenAI misconduct proceedings. Second, a structured framework for assessing the quality and reliability of that evidence, designed for direct application in institutional decision-making. Third, the first empirical analysis at scale of how evidence is currently gathered and evaluated in GenAI misconduct cases.

View source

Similar papers

#artificial intelligence Conference Open access Apr 2020

ECCOLA - a Method for Implementing Ethically Aligned AI Systems

Various recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) system failures, some of which have made the global headlines, have highlighted issues in these systems. These failures have resulted in calls for more ethical AI systems that better take into account their effects on various stakeholders. However, implementing AI ethics into practice is still an on-going challenge. High-level guidelines for doing so exist, devised by governments and private organizations alike, but lack practicality for developers. To address this issue, in this paper, we present a method for implementing AI ethics. The method, ECCOLA, has been iteratively developed using a cyclical action design research approach. The method aims at making the high-level AI ethics principles more practical, making it possible for developers to more easily implement them in practice.

Ville Vakkuri, Kai-Kristian Kemell, P. Abrahamsson · 64 citations · ⚡6
#computer vision Review Apr 2024

AI-powered Code Review with LLMs: Early Results

In this paper, we present a novel approach to improving software quality and efficiency through a Large Language Model (LLM)-based model designed to review code and identify potential issues. Our proposed LLM-based AI agent model is trained on large code repositories. This training includes code reviews, bug reports, and documentation of best practices. It aims to detect code smells, identify potential bugs, provide suggestions for improvement, and optimize the code. Unlike traditional static code analysis tools, our LLM-based AI agent has the ability to predict future potential risks in the code. This supports a dual goal of improving code quality and enhancing developer education by encouraging a deeper understanding of best practices and efficient coding techniques. Furthermore, we explore the model's effectiveness in suggesting improvements that significantly reduce post-release bugs and enhance code review processes, as evidenced by an analysis of developer sentiment toward LLM feedback. For future work, we aim to assess the accuracy and efficiency of LLM-generated documentation updates in comparison to manual methods. This will involve an empirical study focusing on manually conducted code reviews to identify code smells and bugs, alongside an evaluation of best practice documentation, augmented by insights from developer discussions and code reviews. Our goal is to not only refine the accuracy of our LLM-based tool but also to underscore its potential in streamlining the software development lifecycle through proactive code improvement and education.

Z. Rasheed, Malik Abdul Sami, Muhammad Waseem et al. · 62 citations · ⚡3
#machine learning Review Open access Sep 2025

Enhanced Sampling in the Age of Machine Learning: Algorithms and Applications

Molecular dynamics simulations hold great promise for providing insight into the microscopic behavior of complex molecular systems. However, their effectiveness is often constrained by long timescales associated with rare events. Enhanced sampling methods have been developed to address these challenges, and recent years have seen a growing integration with machine learning techniques. This Review provides a comprehensive overview of how they are reshaping the field, with a particular focus on the data-driven construction of collective variables. Furthermore, these techniques have also improved biasing schemes and unlocked novel strategies via reinforcement learning and generative approaches. In addition to methodological advances, we highlight applications spanning different areas, such as biomolecular processes, ligand binding, catalytic reactions, and phase transitions. We conclude by outlining future directions aimed at enabling more automated strategies for rare-event sampling.

Kai Zhu, Enrico Trizio, Jintu Zhang et al. · 54 citations
#computer vision Open access Mar 2024

LLM-based agents for automating the enhancement of user story quality: An early report

In agile software development, maintaining high-quality user stories is crucial, but also challenging. This study explores the use of large language models to automatically improve the user story quality in Austrian Post Group IT agile teams. We developed a reference model for an Autonomous LLM-based Agent System and implemented it at the company. The quality of user stories in the study and the effectiveness of these agents for user story quality improvement was assessed by 11 participants across six agile teams. Our findings demonstrate the potential of LLMs in improving user story quality, contributing to the research on AI role in agile development, and providing a practical example of the transformative impact of AI in an industry setting.

Zheying Zhang, M. Rayhan, Tomas Herda et al. · 48 citations · ⚡4
#computer vision Review Mar 2024

System for systematic literature review using multiple AI agents: Concept and an empirical evaluation

Systematic literature review (SLR) is foundational to evidence-based research, enabling scholars to identify, classify, and synthesize existing studies to address specific research questions. Conducting an SLR is, however, largely a manual process. In recent years, researchers have made significant progress in automating portions of the SLR pipeline to reduce the effort and time required for high-quality reviews; nevertheless, there remains a lack of AI-agent-based systems that automate the entire SLR workflow. To this end, we introduce a novel multi-AI-agent system designed to fully automate SLRs. Leveraging large language models (LLMs), our system streamlines the review process to enhance efficiency and accuracy. Through a user-friendly interface, researchers specify a topic; the system then generates a search string to retrieve relevant academic papers. Next, an inclusion/exclusion filtering step is applied to titles relevant to the research area. The system subsequently summarizes paper abstracts and retains only those directly related to the field of study. In the final phase, it conducts a thorough analysis of the selected papers with respect to predefined research questions. This paper presents the system, describes its operational framework, and demonstrates how it substantially reduces the time and effort traditionally required for SLRs while maintaining comprehensiveness and precision. The code for this project is available at: https://github.com/GPT-Laboratory/SLR-automation .

Malik Abdul Sami, Z. Rasheed, Kai-Kristian Kemell et al. · 43 citations · ⚡2
#computer vision Feb 2024

Can Large Language Models Serve as Data Analysts? A Multi-Agent Assisted Approach for Qualitative Data Analysis

Context: Manual qualitative data analysis is time-intensive and can compromise validity and replicability, affecting analysis design, implementation, and reporting. Large Language Models (LLMs) enable human-bot collaboration in Software Engineering (SE), but their potential for qualitative data analysis in SE remains largely unexplored. Objective: The objective of this study is to design and develop an LLM-based multi-agent system that synergizes human decision support with AI to automate various qualitative data analysis approaches. Methods: We used LLM-based multi-agents systems to assist the qualitative data analysis process, deploying 27 agents, each responsible for a specific task, such as text summarization, initial code generation, and extracting themes and patterns. Results: The main findings are: (1) the LLM-based multi-agent system accelerates the qualitative data analysis process, (2) the system effectively automates tasks such as text summarization, initial code generation, and theme extraction, and (3) the publicly accessible code facilitates validation and further evaluation. Conclusion: The proposed LLM-based multi-agent system automates qualitative data analysis process, creating opportunities for researchers and practitioners. Future improvements focus on enhancing multilingual performance and integrating continuous expert feedback. The source code of proposed system and system details can be found here: https://github.com/GPT-Laboratory/Qualitative-Analysis-with-an-LLM-Based-Agentts

Z. Rasheed, Muhammad Waseem, Aakash Ahmad et al. · 40 citations

Related blog posts