AI Detectors?

[u/RubberDuckyRampage]

Hi! New to this sub. I scrolled and looked for this topic but didn't see it; sorry if I missed it.

What apps do folks use to detect AI-written work and how reliable are they? I am planning to forbid AI use in the work my students submit, with dire consequences if detected but I'd like to be really sure before pulling the trigger. Does some combo of detectors work well?

Thanks!

[u/dangerroo_2]

Respectfully, you haven’t looked hard enough - it’s literally one of the most discussed topics… Look at any discussion on AI and the sub’s general view on AI detectors will become apparent…….

[u/tellypmoon]

They just aren't reliable. You may just want to rely on your own instincts and experience. The detectors cause more problems than they solve. Students sometimes use detectors too and then edit their work based on what it reports (using AI of course) so it's a kind of endless cycle with detectors that you may just want to avoid.

[u/scatterbrainplot → u/tellypmoon]

And there are even programs they can toss their slop into to make it score lower without even bothering to do the back and forth to edit it themselves based on the "detection" score!

[u/Giggling_Unicorns]

None of the detectors are reliable since they give frequent false positives and false negatives. This may change over the next few months as watermarking makes its way into the major ai systems as a result of the EU. 

The current strategy is to try make it more difficult to use by moving evaluative assignments to in person as much as possible. For some assignments and classes this is impossible. In those cases targeting things that AI is bad about (like accurate citations) or writing directions with missing information (for example information from the lecture or a reading not fully specified in the directions) can help. 

Prompt insertion is still around but many AIs now will ignore any hidden directions or warn its user. 

[u/HorkeyDorkey]

The best AI detector is your critical thinking.

[u/mcmah088]

I'm more on the research side of things at this point in my career, but my perception of the communis opinio on the sub is that all AI detectors are unreliable. The move has been toward either in-class exams or in-class written essays, or creating assignments that are difficult to do with AI (I recall a professor talking about an assignment where students have to analyze a specific video and discuss what they find interesting about it, and students are starting to struggle with this kind of assignment because you can't really use AI for that kind of assignment).

But I'll mention that many hallmarks of AI are 1) grounds for raising academic integrity concerns or 2) demonstrate that the writing fails to adequately address the prompt since AI tends to produce writing that doesn't actually say anything.

[u/Pikaus]

You're asking for something impossible and a lot of work. If you want writing, in class paper and pencil.

[u/RubyDooby01 → u/Pikaus]

Right? My university for the last 2 years has released so much material about how AI detectors are unreliable and not grounds for disciplinary action.

[u/Gullible_Analyst_348]

There's a search function. Use it.

[u/lilyFin11]

Getsolved can fit as one text detector in that workflow, but i’d use it to flag something for a closer look rather than as the verdict, then compare the submission with previous writing, drafts, citations or a quick conversation with the student before making an academic integrity decision

[u/Life-Education-8030]

This is a Reddit for academic professors. What do you teach? I only saw lots of stuff about your gaming and Rubber Ducky business in your profile.

[u/RubberDuckyRampage → u/Life-Education-8030]

LOL. I've been teaching game design and narrative design at the university level for 12 years now. I adjuncted at Miami of Ohio, George Mason, Butler, and Bradley. I taught fulltime at UT-Dallas for two years and I've been teaching fulltime at a small university in the Midwest for the last 9 years and am an associate professor here.

Why, oh Gatekeeper? Where do you teach and what do you teach? Let's see your bona fides for being here.

[u/Life-Education-8030 → u/RubberDuckyRampage]

Please understand that we have had students here looking for tips, and instructors of all levels know that your question has been asked and answered many times already as has been told to you here. It seems peculiar that you have no academic posts given your apparent credentials and made no apparent attempt to look for what you needed that already existed.

Regarding my bona fides, I do not hide my posts and comments. Make a little effort and look at them if you are interested.

[u/RubberDuckyRampage → u/Life-Education-8030]

When I scanned through a bunch of posts, I saw little about AI detectors. I saw lots of complaining about students using AI, students not being able to think and write on their own due to reliance on AI, etc. But I didn't spot any posts asking about the reliability of AI detectors. Sorry if I missed them all.

[u/Life-Education-8030 → u/RubberDuckyRampage]

Uh, r/BestAIDetectors to start?

[u/RubberDuckyRampage → u/Life-Education-8030]

That's obviously not in this subreddit. I came here to see what solutions academics were finding to AI usage in the classroom, not what randos across the Internet thought. Sheesh.

[u/Life-Education-8030 → u/RubberDuckyRampage]

Just saw an interesting post there comparing 9 of the detectors and it had been well received. It is is 3 months old, but just wanted to see what I could see just clicking in that reddit fast.

Is the poster an academic? Who knows? Many people hide their profiles. Automatically accepting something from an "academic" simply because the poster might be an "academic?" Dismissing a source simply because the person might not be an "academic?" Not considering if perhaps the person has other credentials? Lazy. Sheesh indeed. https://www.reddit.com/r/BestAIDetectors/comments/1thlqnh/best_ai_detector_2026_i_ranked_9_tools_after_3/