Misusing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Assessments: Contributing Factors
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The rapid adoption of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools has created new opportunities for learning, but it has also introduced new forms of academic misconduct. While some students intentionally misuse AI, many others may feel pressured or influenced into doing so. Three notable factors appear repeatedly in research and student reports: parental pressure, peer pressure, and technology-driven misinformation.
1. Parental Pressure and Performance Expectations: Students use AI Inappropriately to Improve Grades
Many students experience pressure from parents or guardians to achieve high academic results. When academic success becomes strongly linked to family expectations, scholarships, future employment, or social status, some students may be tempted to use AI inappropriately to improve grades. Students facing significant performance pressure may view AI as a shortcut to meeting expectations, especially when struggling with deadlines or difficult coursework. Recent research has found that environmental pressures such as grades, deadlines, and performance expectations can influence students to engage with AI even when they believe doing so may undermine their learning. These pressures can create a gap between students' intentions and their actual behaviour.
2. Peer Pressure and Social Influence
Peer influence is one of the strongest predictors of student behaviour. When students hear classmates claim that they successfully use AI without being detected, some may begin to believe that AI misuse is normal, acceptable, or even necessary to remain competitive. Students may fear being disadvantaged if they do not use the same tools that others are using. A 2025 study on academic cheating with generative AI found that peer influence was a stronger predictor of AI-related cheating behaviour than professors or institutional policies. Researchers concluded that students are heavily influenced by the behaviour and attitudes of their peers. Additional research has shown that peer micro-communities often establish informal norms around AI use regardless of official university policies. Students frequently report that many are using AI and they feel pressured to do the same.
3. Technology, Social Media and Misinformation: Promoting Methods for using Technology to Cheat
The internet, social media platforms, online forums, and AI-related content creators often promote the idea that students can beat the system by using AI. Some online discussions exaggerate the effectiveness of AI, claim that AI-generated work cannot be detected, or suggest that academic integrity systems are ineffective. This can create a false sense of security and encourage risky behaviour. Research on AI-generated misinformation demonstrates how misleading information can spread rapidly online and become widely believed. AI-related misinformation is often highly shareable and can influence user perceptions and behaviour. Studies of student AI use also show that students frequently develop rationalisations that justify inappropriate AI use, convincing themselves that their actions are acceptable or unlikely to result in consequences. Researchers describe these rationalisations as contributing to a slippery slope from legitimate assistance to academic misconduct. Furthermore, educational authorities have warned that social media increasingly promotes methods for using technology to cheat in assessments, encouraging students to believe that detection can be avoided.
NB: Institutions should focus not only on detection and punishment but also on education, ethical AI literacy, and helping students resist social and performance-related pressures.
References
Academic Cheating with Generative AI: Exploring a Moral Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior (2025) – found peer influence to be a major predictor of AI-related cheating. Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666920X25000645
Everyone's Using It, But No One Is Allowed to Talk About It (2026) – identified grading pressure, deadlines, and peer communities as drivers of AI use. Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.17720
A Preliminary Investigation of Intentions to Engage in Academic Misconduct Using Generative AI Tools (2026). Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13562517.2026.2663440
Characterizing AI-Generated Misinformation on Social Media (2025). Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.10266
UK examination regulator warnings regarding social-media-driven technology cheating. Link: https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/in-the-worst-cases-they-could-lose-all-their-a-level-grades-students-could-resort-to-using-smart-glasses-and-hidden-ear-pieces-to-cheat-in-exams-but-its-not-just-a-threat-to-uk-schools
Access the Open AI Resource for Students: Creating AI Awareness & Embracing Ethical Usage [Module available on iKamva]
The CIECT team has designed and developed an online environment that serves as a resource to help you understand the ethical usage of AI technologies and applications. Click on the link below to access the online environment/AI Awareness module. https://ikamva.uwc.ac.za/portal/site/aa418198-c27f-4807-9574-5f4c6d0fad30
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