Graduates Stuck on 'AI Rate' as Thesis AIGC Detection Draws Backlash
The article, republished by several Chinese tech outlets, describes a graduating-season backlash over 'AI rates' from AIGC-detection tools on theses: one graduate was called back a year later because a spot check flagged 47% suspected AI, potentially affecting certificates she had already received, and a master's student was told to push a 39% reading below 20% to sit her defense, though her own check showed 15%. It says platforms such as CNKI, VIP, PaperYY and Gezida return different percentages and different highlighted passages for the same thesis, pushing students to pay for repeated checks (VIP about 20 yuan each; one student spent nearly 500 yuan) and for 'lower the AI rate' services, where a 500-yuan rewrite raised one student's score and a further 200 yuan still failed. It also cites a supervisor whose own line-by-line edits were flagged at 89% suspected AI, and notes a May 2026 guideline commissioned by the education ministry's graduate education department that sets no nationwide AI-rate threshold.
It shows how an unstable AIGC-detection number can become an academic gatekeeper, shifting judgment from supervisors to an unexplained percentage.