Osmania University flags AI-generated PhD theses
HYDERABAD: Faculty members at Osmania University are scrutinising PhD theses prepared with the help of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Researchers submitting doctoral theses are being asked to rewrite sections after university authorities identify AI-generated content and other forms of non-original work.
The university has been subjecting PhD theses to plagiarism checks before accepting them. Officials said nearly 600 theses examined over the past two years required corrections, revisions or additions after review.
Advanced software tracks AI-generated content
Osmania University has been using specialised software since July last year to assess the originality of research submitted by scholars. Authorities use the Turnitin platform to determine the extent of copied material in a thesis.
University officials said the software can identify within minutes whether content was generated using AI tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini and estimate the proportion of copied material in the document.
Warning over PhD admissions
Universities including Osmania University, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University and University of Hyderabad collectively receive around 1,700 PhD theses annually across various disciplines.
According to university officials, checks using Turnitin found that up to 40 per cent of some submissions contained content generated with the help of ChatGPT, while another 5 per cent included material collected from other theses. Authorities have recently warned students that such practices could lead to restrictions on future PhD admissions for up to three years.
Faculty members also cautioned that using AI tools merely for English-language drafting could increase plagiarism scores and create complications during thesis evaluation.
