Sciences Po, a prestigious university in France, has prohibited the use of ChatGPT, a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence that can produce written content, to stop cheating and copyright infringement.

ChatGPT, which is a free program that can produce unique text on any subject when given a prompt, has raised worries about plagiarism across various fields. The university informed students and staff through email that ChatGPT and other AI-based tools were banned at Sciences Po.

Sciences Po stated that students are not allowed to utilize ChatGPT for written assignments or presentations unless it is for specific class purposes and under the supervision of the instructor. The university did not mention how it would monitor usage.

According to US media, ChatGPT has already been banned in some public schools in New York City and Seattle, while some US universities are planning to reduce take-home assessments and increase hand-written essays and oral exams.

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Sciences Po, located in Paris, warned that the consequences of using the software could lead to expulsion from the university or even from higher education in France.

Sciences Po stated that the use of ChatGPT is causing significant concerns for educators and researchers globally regarding issues of cheating, particularly plagiarism.

Recently, Microsoft declared an additional multi-billion dollar investment in OpenAI, the AI research lab responsible for creating ChatGPT. This builds upon Microsoft’s previous investment of $1 billion in the startup co-founded by Elon Musk of Tesla and investor Sam Altman, made nearly four years ago.