List of Current AI Checkers (6.17.2025) - some are free to use
The University also uses TurnItIn. TurnItIn has a built in originality checker and an AI detector. As an instructor you need to enable those items in Canvas
You may detect it yourself.
Look for the following:
For AI generated text, things to look for:
- Formulaic writing, like 5-paragraph and 7-paragraph essays, like what is taught in middle and high school
- Too few citations for content of the essay and academic context
- No connection to the course context / content (no textbook or lectures mentioned)
- Lacking a personal connection or voice
- Content is too academic - vocabulary, research, theories, language and sentence structure is too advanced for the course / student
- Perfect grammar and spelling
- No contractions
- Sentences are all about the same length with little variation
- Repetition, not in the same paragraph, but similar content in multiple parts of essay
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All of that has to do with training of the AIs and maybe a little about the prompts being entered by the student.
For AI generated images, things to look for:
- Count the number of limbs and fingers (AIs occasionally add extras, especially if the body is in an odd position [not standing or sitting in a chair])
- Hair looks like one thing and not a million individual strands (cartoonish)
- Blurry in places
- Everything is equally in-focus
- Flawless skin (no blemishes or freckles) and teeth - more than airbrushing in magazines
- Clothing not physically correct (seams, buttons, zippers) or it just doesn't sit on a body correctly
- Shadows don't all line up - looks like multiple sources of light in an image
- Perfect sky / clouds, or moon is exaggerated
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This Is AI, Right? Evaluation Form
This is a checklist created by Steve Jung for our faculty. It is two-sided. One side is a checklist for AI and the other is for Human writing. It is meant to be humorous and yes, both sides look the same because AI is that good.
To watch for (possible false positives):
- formulaic writing will be tagged as AI
- English language learners will often be tagged because they are writing generic 5 paragraph essays AND using translation tools
- use of a translation tool (Google Translate and such)
- students that "correct" all their grammar and spelling "errors" with Word, Google Docs, or Grammarly (perfect spelling and grammar are marks of AI)