Programs to detect AI discriminate against non-native English speakers, shows study

Over half of essays written by people were wrongly flagged as AI-made, with implications for students and job applicants

Computer programs that are used to detect essays, job applications and other work generated by artificial intelligence can discriminate against people who are non-native English speakers, researchers say.

Tests on seven popular AI text detectors found that articles written by people who did not speak English as a first language were often wrongly flagged as AI-generated, a bias that could have a serious impact on students, academics and job applicants.