OpenAI confirms it’s looking into text watermarking for ChatGPT that could expose cheating students

Following a report from The Wall Street Journal that claims OpenAI has been sitting on a software that may spot essays written by ChatGPT with a excessive diploma of accuracy, the corporate has shared a little bit of details about its analysis into textual content watermarking — and why it hasn’t launched its detection methodology. In line with The Wall Avenue Journal’s report, debate over whether or not the software needs to be launched has stored it from seeing the sunshine of day, regardless of it being “prepared.” In an replace printed on Sunday to a Might blog post, noticed by TechCrunch, OpenAI stated, “Our groups have developed a textual content watermarking methodology that we proceed to contemplate as we analysis alternate options.”

The corporate stated watermarking is one among a number of options, together with classifiers and metadata, that it has regarded into as a part of “in depth analysis on the realm of textual content provenance.” In line with OpenAI, it “has been extremely correct” in some conditions, however doesn’t carry out as nicely when confronted with sure types of tampering, “like utilizing translation programs, rewording with one other generative mannequin, or asking the mannequin to insert a particular character in between each phrase after which deleting that character.” And textual content watermarking may “disproportionately influence some teams,” OpenAI wrote. “For instance, it may stigmatize use of AI as a helpful writing software for non-native English audio system.”

Per the weblog put up, OpenAI has been weighing these dangers. The corporate additionally wrote that it has prioritized the discharge of authentication instruments for audiovisual content material. In an announcement to TechCrunch, an OpenAI spokesperson stated the corporate is taking a “deliberate method” to textual content provenance due to “the complexities concerned and its probably influence on the broader ecosystem past OpenAI.”