I was seven years old. At the small supermarket in my village, my eyes kept being drawn to Bazooka bubble gum – rectangular pieces of pink chewing gum with a red, white, and blue wrapper that came with a small comic strip. One day after school, I hung around the shop for a while, mustering the courage to step inside. I slowly made my way down the aisles to the spot where the Bazooka gums lay staring at me. I grabbed one, clenched it in my fist, and walked out with my heart in my throat. I can’t remember if I actually enjoyed the gum, but I do recall feeling like my chest would explode. I avoided the supermarket for days or even weeks, terrified that someone would be able to tell by looking at me that I’d stolen a piece of bubble gum that sold for 5 cents.
Goody-two-shoes
That fear has stayed with me my entire life. It turned me into a goody-two-shoes when it comes to stealing, cheating, or plagiarism. Just the thought of it makes me break out in a cold sweat. So, as far as I’m aware, I’ve never cheated on a test or copied even part of someone else’s paper. Back when I was a student, today’s ChatGPT and other generative AI tools were still a long way off. But I suspect I wouldn’t have used them anyway, even if only for fear of getting caught. It would be a nightmare for me. I’d be mortified.
Plagiarists
Not everyone shares that fear, judging by the number of fraudulent students who have recently been caught. The Boards of Examiners of the different faculties counted some 200 plagiarists last year, our editor MT found out. The odds are that this number will only increase in the new academic year. This month, UM started using plagiarism detection software that is not just faster and more advanced, but also able to detect ChatGPT and AI plagiarism. Pocketing one stick of bubble gum is nothing compared to using ChatGPT to write your essay, paying a fellow student to be your ghostwriter, or copy-pasting entire pages together. And the consequences can be severe, down to being denied your degree.