China considers stripping degrees from academics who misuse AI

A draft rule is under review by the Chinese legislature that would penalise current and former university students who earned bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD degrees if they are shown to have used artificial intelligence (AI) tools to ‘manipulate data’ or write their essays, theses or dissertations. These punishments could include revoking their degrees after a committee review, according to reports. ‘The proposed law is forward-looking, it is not just for now but looks ahead to an environment where sophisticated AI-assisted writing tools become more commonplace,’ an anonymous academic in Guangzhou told University World News.