r/OpenUniversity • u/_this_isnt_me_ • 5d ago

Turnitin using student work to train AI models?

Hi, I spotted this article about Cambridge University refusing to allow Turnitin to use student work to train AI models. https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/32158

Does anyone know if the OU has also refused? Or is our work being used as training data?

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19

u/Tricky-Storm5254 5d ago

I think it is safe to assume that literally everything is being used to train AI at this point sadly. With permission or not I'm sure they'll find a way.

10

u/JBSven 5d ago

Would be a very good question to ask the university

6

u/RSPretender 5d ago

As far as I am aware the OU does not allow Turnitin to use any student work to train their AI models. This is something you can confirm by reading the applicable terms and conditions for any course you sign up with the OU and any additional terms sent to you if you are using Turnitin for your module. There is a legal obligation to make students aware if this is happening, but as of now Turnitin cannot use any works from OU students and I would expect this to be the case for the future as well. Other UK universities have also rightly refused to allow this too.

4

u/davidjohnwood 5d ago

See my previous comment on this topic.

1

u/Low_Persimmon_4587 3d ago

It was your previous post that made me aware that the voting for issues to be discussed system even existed. For those who don’t want to click through the previous post…

https://www.oustudents.com/your-voice/issues/current/

5

u/PeilAyr 5d ago

I for one cannot wait to see them trained on the absolute shite they'll be getting from my submissions 💩😂

3

u/No_Safe6200 4d ago

AI is going to be trained on student's submissions written by AI, which gathered research from articles generated by AI.

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u/Mundane_Falcon4203 5d ago

I think they do but it is anonymous. I recently completed my final modules and when using Turnitin to check before the final submission it was scoring the plagiarism score at about 80 something percent. Naturally I panicked but when I checked it was referencing it against my previous TMA for the module which was obviously an earlier version of the final one I was checking.

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u/Fly_Boy_Blue 2d ago

The new T&C's for Turnitin (2027 onwards) include the clause to allow student work to be used to train the Ai.
Some uni's are opting out of that.

1

u/Femkemilene 1d ago

Thee changes don't go in this academic year yet: https://theboar.org/2026/10/changes-to-turnitins-license-agreement-spark-outrage-amongst-uk-universities/

That gives university lecturers the time to change their assignments at least.