Should Professors Use AI Detectors to Check Student Assignments?

A professor reads an assignment and notices something unusual. The writing is much more polished than the student’s earlier work. The argument is difficult to connect to ideas discussed in class. When asked about a section, the student cannot explain how they reached the conclusion.

An AI detector may seem like a useful next step. The professor uploads the assignment and receives a high AI score. But what does that score actually tell them? It may indicate that the writing resembles text produced by AI. It does not show when AI was used, how it was used, or whether the student violated the course policy.

This is where the use of AI detectors in higher education becomes complicated. Professors need ways to identify work that may require closer attention. They also need to avoid treating a detection score as proof of misconduct. The real question is not simply whether professors should use AI detectors to check student assignments. It is how these tools should fit into a fair process for evaluating student work.

AI use has made assessment harder to interpret

The question is becoming more relevant because AI is now part of many students’ academic routines. The 2026 HEPI Student Generative AI Survey found that 95% of UK undergraduates use AI in at least one way. It also found that 94% use generative AI to help with assessed work. Yet only 12% said they had directly included AI-generated text in assessed work.

Those findings matter because using AI and submitting AI-generated work are not necessarily the same thing. A student might use AI to understand a difficult concept or explore research ideas when those uses are permitted. Another student might use generated text in an assignment where such use is not allowed. The professor therefore needs to understand the nature of the AI use before deciding whether there is an academic integrity concern.

That distinction also makes clear AI policies essential. Students need to know what forms of AI use are allowed for each assessment. HEPI recommends clear, assessment-specific guidance so students understand how AI can be used within their courses.

An AI detection score is not a record of how the work was written

An AI detector evaluates the submitted text. It does not observe the process that produced it. It cannot see the student’s notes, earlier drafts, revisions, research process, or conversations with a professor.

This creates a gap between what a professor wants to know and what the detector can actually provide. A high score may suggest that the writing resembles AI-generated text. It does not establish that a student used a particular AI system or deliberately violated an academic integrity rule.

Research also shows why professors should be careful with detection results. The RAID benchmark tested AI detectors across different language models, domains, and methods designed to evade detection. The researchers found that detector performance can change when generated text is modified.

False positives can have serious consequences

The concern is not limited to whether a detector misses AI-generated writing. A false positive can affect a student who produced the work independently. If a professor treats a detector score as proof, an uncertain technical result can become an accusation of academic misconduct.

The University of Toronto does not support the use of AI detection software on student work. Its guidance states that these tools have not been found sufficiently reliable and can incorrectly flag human-written content. It recommends approaches such as discussing the work with students and using assessments that allow students to explain their ideas.

The University of British Columbia takes a similar position. It strongly discourages AI detection because of concerns about accuracy, bias, privacy, and intellectual property. It also states that detection results should not be the sole factor in decisions about academic misconduct.

AI detectors can still have a role

These concerns do not mean that every AI detector is useless. They mean professors need to be clear about what they are asking the tool to do.

A detector can help identify an assignment that deserves a closer look. For example, a professor may notice that a submission differs sharply from earlier work and then see that the text also receives a high AI score. That combination gives the professor a reason to investigate further. It does not settle the matter.

The next step should involve context. A professor can compare earlier work, review drafts when available, examine the assignment against the course policy, and ask the student to explain their reasoning. The detector becomes one source of information within a wider review rather than the decision-maker.

What should professors look at besides an AI score?

The writing process can provide information that a final submission cannot. Drafts can show how an argument developed. Revision history can show how the document changed. A short discussion can reveal whether the student understands the ideas presented in the assignment.

Assessment design can also reduce the pressure placed on detection tools. UBC recommends approaches that include in-class elements, connections to current or local issues, and greater attention to the process behind the final submission.

This approach does not require professors to remove every written assignment. It means creating more opportunities to observe learning. When professors can see how students develop and explain their work, they have more information to use when questions arise.

How should professors evaluate an AI detector?

If an institution chooses to use AI detectors, the tool itself needs careful evaluation. A professor should look at how the system performs on academic writing and whether independent testing supports its claims. Privacy also matters because submitting student work to an external system can involve intellectual property and data protection concerns.

Independent benchmarks can provide useful information. RAID is designed to test AI detection across different models, domains, and adversarial conditions. Its results show why performance needs to be considered under more than one type of test.

For academic writing, Trinka AI detector has ranked first on the RAID leaderboard for the abstracts domain, with an AUROC of 0.999. A benchmark result can help when comparing tools, but it should not change how a professor interprets an individual student’s score. Even a strong detecrtor provides a signal. The academic decision still requires context.

A responsible approach starts with human judgment

Professors do not need to choose between ignoring AI use and accepting every detector result as fact. A more useful approach gives each part of the process a clear role.

The course policy establishes what students are allowed to do. The assignment provides the work that needs to be assessed. An AI detector can identify text that may deserve closer attention. Drafts, writing history, discussion, and other assessment evidence provide context. The professor then decides what the available information means.

This approach also reflects UNESCO’s guidance on generative AI in education. Its framework calls for a human-centered approach that protects human agency and supports ethical, safe, equitable, and meaningful use of AI.