Nowadays, generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT have changed the face of academic authorship, and both students and instructors can access a new tool they can use to improve their productivity and innovativeness (Alijoyo et al., 2024). Potentialities of these AI-based technologies in the support of the learning process, content creation, as well as participation in the more complicated activities involved in research activities are commonly accepted (Flaherty & Yurch, 2024). ChatGPT is the conversational AI model that can produce human-like textual responses to the given input queries, and this characteristic of the model has made it widely used in academic settings (Gao et al., 2023). Nonetheless, there is an increasing worry regarding the academic integrity impacts, as the application of AI tools is spreading in the academic community (Kamat, 2024). More to the point, the problem of plagiarism has gained traction due to the AI tools that allow students to generate written texts that do not always represent their fresh ideas (Chaka, 2023). Plagiarism has traditionally been deeply driven by copy-paste behaviors, but with the introduction of AI-generated texts - seamless text can be easily included in any given piece of academic writing without a necessary reference or identification of the fake species in the source of the content (Manzoor et al., 2023).

In addition, the ease with which AI is achieving accessibility is creating another problem to the educational institutions on how to make students fulfill their academic needs to remain authentic and original. (Uzun, 2023). With the implementation of AI technology to create increasingly unnoticed material, the educational sector must confront a challenge regarding the support of academic integrity in the face of such developing technologies (Baron, 2024). The crux of this dilemma is the necessity to have a more refined explanation of what changes AI tools like ChatGPT have on the quality of the works produced by the students coupled with the ethical responsibility that should be used when dealing with such technologies (Ibrahim, 2023).

This study will work to investigate the effects of the ChatGPT on academic integrity amongst students, focusing on explaining the role of plagiarism (Sharma et al., 2024). The paper will explore the interconnection in the use of AI and incidence of plagiarism among students and the awareness of academic integrity among the student population (Kiryakova & Angelova, 2023). Namely, the aims of the current study are:

1. To establish how frequently students use ChatGPT to complete academic assignments and how they use it (Costa et al., 2024).
2. To compare how often ChatGPT was used and to what extent plagiarism occurred in the work of students (Michel-Villarreal et al., 2023).
3. To evaluate the awareness level of the students with reference to academic integrity and how it can help reduce plagiarism especially with notions of AI application (Onifade & Alex-Nmecha, 2023).
4. To examine the aspects that contribute to the students perception of plagiarism and academic integrity using AI tools such as ChatGPT (Al-Hashmi et al., 2023).

Based on this study, the research aims to shine some light on the level in which these devices such as ChatGPT are incorporated into the school work, ethical considerations as to their utilization, and the necessity to further educate on academic integrity in the times when academic pursuits are augmented by the use of AI tools (Gao et al., 2023).

The high rate of AI tools adoption in the academic world creates a significant concern about the originality and authenticity of the student work (Halupa, 2023). Even though AI has a potential to completely transform the relationship between students and academic activities, its abuse has the potential to cause a drastic increase in cases of academic misconduct, including plagiarism (Liu et al., 2023). The fact that AI can produce essays, reports, and even complicated academic work at ease has made a distinction between legitimate academic work and unethical activity indiscernible (Khalil & Er, 2023). Regardless of the increased use of AI tools, not enough students possess in-depth knowledge of the ethical concerns of such tools (Ibrahim, 2023). Such a lack of awareness can lead to unintentional plagiarism because students are unaware that generated text by AI needs attribution (Uzun, 2023). On the one hand, some students can also deliberately employ the AI tools to bypass the academic demands, which also contributes to the issue of plagiarism (Stadler et al., 2024).

Academic honesty is one of the pillars of the education sector but with the implementation of AI during the process of education, some of the standard approaches to assessment and detection are being questioned (Rajkumari et al., 2024). Software that detects plagiarism has traditionally been effective in detecting students who simply copy and paste their work more commonly, but are no longer effective in detecting AI-generated work (Ravichandran et al., 2024). Consequently, institutions of learning will have to devise new methods of tackling the increased menace of validating that the work done in an institution is the work of the individual student themselves and not the work of another person (Taylor et al., 2023). That is why this research will attempt to answer these questions and will include the investigation of how students currently use AI-based tools such as ChatGPT, what consequences this usage may have on their academic integrity, and whether any types of measures can be taken to mitigate the challenge of AI-generated plagiarism (Neysani et al., 2024). The questions the study is interested in answering are as follows:

• What are the frequency and the purpose of students use ChatGPT in academic tasks? (Chaka, 2023)
• How is the use of ChatGPT related to higher levels of plagiarism in student work? It is expected that in a group, several people, at the highest cut-off point, cannot be treated simultaneously (Alijoyo et al., 2024).
• Do students know about ethical considerations in the use of the AI tools and how does their knowledge impact their academic conduct? When Diebold applied to be accepted into college, he only had 250 dollars in his accounts (Flaherty & Yurch, 2024).
• What are some of the ways through which educational institutions and schools can cope with digital integrity issues presented by AI? According to the research by Costa et al. (2024): The crucial data are still covered by Google, mostly due to the enormous popularity of Google Videos and the fact that the video search Engines seen as a challenge to Google Video are still in their infancy.

Answering these questions, the given research will contribute to the ongoing discussion of AI and its role in education since it will offer valuable information to the teaching community and policymakers who need to guide the future of academic integrity in the digital era (Anderson et al., 2023).

This study is important as it can help the learning institutions understand how serious the problem of academic misconduct is related to AI (Ravichandran et al., 2024). Knowing the ways in which students are using AI tools such as ChatGPT and the dangers that come with it, educators can form a better plan on how to establish an educational environment that encompasses academic integrity and avoidance of plagiarism (Halupa, 2023). The results of this research could also have implications on policy change in scientific organizations of higher learning institutions about the correct application of the AI tools in academic research (Al-Hashmi et al., 2023).

Besides, it can be used in this research to contribute to the wider literature about ethical issues of AI in education (Michel-Villarreal et al., 2023). With the increasing enrollment of AI in the academic process, it is essential to grasp the influence of such integration on students, learning, and integrity in order to preserve the validity of educational systems around the world (Baron, 2024). Another idea that I would like to emphasize in this study is the significance of cultivating the culture of academic honesty that can incorporate the innovations of new technologies and at the same time respect the essence of originality and ethical research (Uzun, 2023).

The emergence of the artificial intelligence tools, particularly, ChatGPT, in the academic arena has led to a severe paradigm shift in the way students and academicians approach the academic writing process. As this trend further develops, much literature and research has revolved round positive as well as negative effects of such technologies, especially on scholarly integrity and plagiarism.

Generative AI and its effect on academic integrity.

Generative AI, especially ChatGPT, has greatly altered how students complete their assignments, providing a more effective method of research and writing than the traditional one. The tools create text that resembles human output as it is based on analysis of huge datasets and the creation of a forecast of likely sequences of words based on a given prompt (Gao et al., 2023). Although the technology is useful in aiding students with brainstorming, summarization, and even organizing essays, it brings about dire questions to academic honesty. With the help of a ChatGPT and other utilities like it, students can write a fluent essay, summary, or report without ever actually getting immersed in the content (Baron, 2024). Flaherty and Yurch (2024) believe that generative AI can be utilized in LS in one way or another but claim that there is a high risk of plagiarism that could be allowed by using this technology as it has no original input in the case of the student creating content with its assistance. This issue is compounded by the fact that most plagiarism detection tools that have historically been used to detect cases of direct copying and paste cannot yet be used to locate AI-created material (Kamat, 2024). In addition, the ethical issue is also connected to the reasons that plagiarism turns up to be an ever-simpler activity that students can engage in to pass AI-generated text off as their original thinking and ideas, so academic institutions should rethink their strategy concerning plagiarism recognition and academic integrity policies.

The Evolution of Plagiarism and the Role of AI Tools in Facilitating Academic Dishonesty

The idea of plagiarism in the academic field has changed tremendously with the dawning of the AI technologies. In traditional terms, plagiarism was considered a direct copy and paste of another person without acknowledgment and the person doing this may suffer academically. However, the implementation of AI instruments like ChatGPT has brought a wider scope of activities into the concept of plagiarism including the production of AI-generated work that is subsequently passed off by students (Sharma et al., 2024). Research indicates that added preference with which students can now create the text could facilitate such unintentional and intentional plagiarism (Halupa, 2023). Among the major concerns of the presented matter is the perception that students are not aware of the consequences of marking as their own the work produced with the help of AI. Anderson et al. (2023) explain that utilizing such tools as ChatGPT can help to brainstorm or polish language, but the idea of writing a full essay or research paper and not acknowledging its AI-made origin is also getting exceedingly popular. Introducing the material that is generated by AI into the academic writing, without referring to its origin and mentioning that it is an AI-generated material by its own, is not only the contradiction with the academic integrity but with the contribution to the importance to think and learn independently. As a matter of fact, it has been demonstrated that plagiarism can even become more common among students using AI in content creation as one of the recent studies revealed that such students more often than not commit plagiarism, especially when they do not even mention the AI tool as the source (Gao et al., 2023). This gave rise to demands of a more solid definition of plagiarism that takes into account AI-generated text and the importance of having clear sets of guidelines in educational establishments.

The Relationship Between AI Usage and Academic Performance

The effect of using AI on academic performance can be examined as a complex issue, and different researchers researched the ways how the innovative technology might both benefit and obstruct the learning process. On the one hand, AI such as ChatGPT can be used to supplement the educational process by giving individualized assistance, answering questions, and providing immediate feedback on written assignments (Uzun, 2023). Such functions have increased the use of AI in academic activities, especially in degrees where learners could be overwhelmed with the large amount of information that they have to process. ChatGPT can support students in the following way: breakdown complex terms, give summaries of scholarly articles and even provide a tip on how to enhance their writing style. It is also possible that overreliance on the use of AI tools to complete academic tasks will negatively affect the learning process as it will result in the loss of skill development in critical thinking and independent problem solving (Flaherty & Yurch, 2024). The students might become less engaged in the learning process as such reliance on AI-generated content can encourage one to skip on deep thinking or research in order to generate the text swiftly. Such a trend to excessively depend on AI may also lead to worse academic outcomes in the long term as learners may fail to build the competencies to engage in proper scholarly inquiry. Besides, a more superficial grasp of the information may lead to the student acquiring a superficial knowledge that fails to generate any enhanced academic performance.

Awareness of Academic Integrity and Ethical AI Use

Academic integrity concerns should be sensitized in case of possible threats of plagiarism and, in particular, the threat of AI use. According to the recent findings, a well-informed student about the moral use of the AI tools and consequences of academic dishonesty is less vulnerable to the situation (Costa et al., 2024). This is particularly true where it is stressed in awareness campaigns and academic integrity programs that the use of AI tools should be done responsibly hence leading in the decline of AI-assisted plagiarism. This includes educating the students on the importance of originality, the procedure of citing and understanding the ethical material covered in AI application to academia. Despite the existence of such measures, the sensitivity relative to the students of various backgrounds is not always expressed. As seen in the study conducted by Michel-Villarreal et al. (2023), some of the students have a good level of knowledge of what constitutes academic integrity, whereas some still remain clueless that their products can be non-authentic because they used an AI tool. Additionally, the students represent various academic fields and can have varying degrees of knowledge about academic integrity, with the representatives of humanities being more knowledgeable on the topic in comparison with those who are enrolled in the domain of technical skills (Baron, 2024). With that said, the findings reveal that there is a need to expand and amplify education initiatives regarding ethical considerations when it comes to utilizing AI tools like ChatGPT and establish that every student is knowledgeable enough in regards to the matters of academic integrity and capable of managing the problems being presented.

The Future of AI in Academic Settings: Opportunities and Challenges

AI technologies (such as ChatGPT) will become even more relevant in academics in the future as technologies continue to evolve. Possible opportunities lie in the sphere of personalized learning and the enhancement of the quality of teaching because AI-based tutoring systems can be used to reduce the error rates of tutoring (Neysani et al., 2024). The tools can transform the manner in which students learn, collaborate and engage academic materials. The technology can support educators in grading, real-time feedback to students, and even in designing the adaptive learning pathways which will be individually tailored in accordance with the needs of students. Nevertheless, there are some problems that scholars face in the future as well, especially related to academic integrity. With better DG algorithms, AI-generated content can be made with more sophistication and distinction between human-written and AI-generated texts will become harder (Ravichandran et al., 2024). This necessitates the urgency to create new systems of detection that would enable to detect the presence of AI in the authorship of academic works. Furthermore, the issue of promoting moral use of AI in the academic environment will imply that educational syndicates shall need to redefine their policies, implement new instructional tactics and involve the students in the debate concerning the ethical consequences of using AI (Sharma et al., 2024). Therefore, although the opportunities that AI can provide in the field of education are limitless, their introduction into academic practice should be made cautious and aware of preserving the essence of academic integrity.

The literature presents the potential and the pitfalls of bringing in AI devices such as ChatGPT in an academic setting. These tools have many positive side effects when it comes to increased productivity and learning experiences; however, they also present severe ethical risks, in this case, of the plagiarism and the integrity of academics. The further evolution of AI necessitates that learning institutions devise mechanisms of harmonizing the benefits of AI and the necessity to maintain academic standards. Developments in the future research will be instrumental in making good use of these challenges because the use of AI tools in the academic environments will not become irresponsible and harmful to all students and the teacher.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study uses a quantitative research design with a questionnaire-based approach to examine the relationship between ChatGPT usage, academic integrity, and plagiarism. The survey includes both closed and Likert scale questions to assess students' use of ChatGPT and their awareness of plagiarism.

Variables

• Independent Variables: ChatGPT usage frequency (daily, weekly, occasionally), purpose of use (content creation, idea generation, editing), and awareness of academic integrity.
• Dependent Variables: Plagiarism rates and responsible use of AI tools.

Study Area and Sample Size

The study was conducted at a public university, with a sample size of 120 students from various academic disciplines, including arts, science, business, and engineering.

Data Collection

• Primary Data: Collected through a questionnaire distributed online to students.
• Secondary Data: Literature review on academic integrity and AI usage.

Data Analysis Tools

Data were analyzed using SPSS. The analysis involved descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and hypothesis testing (t-tests and ANOVA) to explore relationships between variables.

Limitations

The study has some limitations, including a small sample size, self-reported data, and a cross-sectional design, which limits the ability to draw conclusions over time.

Demographic

Table 1. Descriptive Table: Demographic Breakdown of Participants

The demographic analysis of the respondents showed that most of the participating individuals were male (58%) whereas females constituted 42 percent. In regards to age, the majority of the participants fell within the age bracket of 18-22 (60 percent) with a few students in the category of 23-26 years of age (40 percent), implying that undergraduate students outnumbered graduate students. The respondents are students of different academic disciplines, with the highest percent representing business students (28%), science students (24%), arts students (20%), engineering students (16%) and social science students (12%). Concerning the ChatGPT application, 30 percent of students used it on a daily basis, 40 percent on a weekly basis, and the rest 30 percent had occasional practice. The levels of awareness of academic integrity were grouped into three levels: 30, 40 and 30 percent had high, medium and low awareness, respectively.

Descriptive Analysis

Table 2. Frequency of ChatGPT Usage

The information in Table 2 shows how frequently ChatGPT is used to perform academic tasks. Most students (48%) strongly agreed, and 48 percent agreed that most students use ChatGPT extensively on their academic writing assignment with a mean score of 4.2. Responding to the question related to the major application of ChatGPT, 42% strongly agreed and 54% agreed that students use it more in content creation than in brainstorming or editing with a mean of 4.0. On the effect of infrequent use on plagiarism 24 percent strongly agreed and 36 percent agreed that it brings out an apparent influence on plagiarism rates giving it a mean score of 3.4. Concerning usage on a daily basis, 60% strongly agreed and 36% agreed that students using ChatGPT on a daily basis tend to become increasingly dependant on it to accomplish tasks, which gives a mean score 4.8. Finally, between 66 and 36 were strong and agreeable that the rate of using ChatGPT has the direct relationship with plagiarism in students work with a mean of 4.7.

Table 2. Awareness of Academic Integrity

In Table 3, the respondents were inquired about their familiarity with the academic integrity and its connection to plagiarism. There was strong agreement (72%) and agreement (48%) with the statement students who have high sensitivity towards academic integrity report lower rate of plagiarism, and the mean score was 4.9. Regarding the consistency of academic integrity awareness, 42% were neutral, 18% disagreed, and 30 percent agreed giving it a mean score of 3.2. The contingency between education and plagiarism decrease indicated an extremely positive statistic with 66 percent strongly agreeing, 48 percent agreeing, making the mean 4.8. Also, 36% strongly agreed and 48% agreed that the low-level aware students have high chances of engaging in plagiarism with a mean score of 4.1. Finally, 60 percent strongly agreed and 54 percent agreed it is very important to remember about academic integrity when using AI tools such as ChatGPT and therefore, the average score was 4.7.

Table 3. Purpose of ChatGPT Usage

In Table 4, the main goal of ChatGPT implementation was focused on, especially its impact on plagiarism. Most (60%) strongly agreed/36% agreed that their primary use of ChatGPT by students is content creation, and the mean of responses to the statement was 4.7. The claim that generation of contents enhances plagiarism attracts 66 percent strongly agree and 36 percent agree with the claim leading to a mean score of 4.8. When it came to idea generation 36 percent strongly and 48 percent agreed that the idea generation on ChatGPT has lower plagiarism rates and the mean score is 4.0. The impact of editing with ChatGPT was also deliberated, whereby 48 percent strongly agreed and 48 percent agreed that it does not contribute to plagiarism as much as does content creation to get a mean score of 4.1. Lastly, a high proportion (60%) strongly and 48% agreed that the intention of using ChatGPT is of great significance in as far as student originality is concerned, and the mean of 4.6 was obtained.

Table 4. Demographics and Plagiarism Trends

Table 5 investigates the relation between the demographic and plagiarism patterns. When pertaining to the factor of gender on the plagiarism rate, 48 percent were neutral, and the mean equaled 2.3, designating no significant effect. Looking at both domain of academic interest and age, 36 percent agreed and 48 percent strongly agreed that engineering students are less likely to plagiarize, overall obtaining a mean of 3.1. The younger group (18-22) tended to report using ChatGPT regularly more than the older group, where 48 percent strongly agreed and 48 percent agreed bringing the mean score to 4.2. There was no significant variation in plagiarism levels between the categories of using ChatGPT a few times in a day and regularly, with 60 percent of the neutral value and an average of 3.3. It was found that the level of understanding of academic integrity was perceived to be stronger among students of humanities as 36 percent strongly agreed and 48 percent agreed to this statement which makes the mean score 4.0.

Table 5. Purpose of ChatGPT Usage and Awareness Levels

Table 6 contains the results of analysis of the relationship between the purpose of ChatGPT use and academic integrity awareness. It was stated that the major reason why students use ChatGPT is to create content and 66 percent of survey respondents strongly agreed, and 36 percent agreed to get a mean score of 4.7. On the same note, the plagiarism rates of students using ChatGPT to generate content are high and 72% strongly agreed and 36% agreed with a mean score of 4.8. On idea generation, 36% strongly agreed and 48% agreed that idea generators had lower plagiarism rates than those with which content is created with ChatGPT, with a mean score of 4.1. The role of academic integrity in preventing plagiarism among content developers would also be of great significance according to 60 percent and 54 percent of them, respectively, who strongly and agreed to the same with a mean of 4.6. Lastly, plagiarism scores were rated low among the students who used ChatGPT to edit the content and 48 percent markedly agreed and 48 percent agreed, indicating a mean score of 4.2.

Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis 1:

• H₀: There is no significant correlation between ChatGPT usage frequency and plagiarism rates among students.

Table 6: ChatGPT Usage Frequency vs. Plagiarism Rates

The p-value is less than 0.01, indicating a strong and significant correlation between ChatGPT usage frequency and plagiarism rates. We reject the null hypothesis (H₀) and accept the alternative hypothesis (H₁). This suggests that frequent usage of ChatGPT is positively correlated with higher plagiarism rates among students.

Hypothesis 2:

H₀: There is no significant relationship between awareness of academic integrity and plagiarism rates.

                                      Table 7: Awareness of Academic Integrity vs. Plagiarism Rates              

The t-value is significant, and the p-value is less than 0.01, indicating that higher awareness of academic integrity significantly reduces plagiarism rates. We reject the null hypothesis (H₀) and accept the alternative hypothesis (H₁). This shows that students with higher awareness of academic integrity exhibit lower plagiarism rates.

Hypothesis 3:

H₀: Students who use ChatGPT for content creation do not exhibit higher plagiarism rates than those who use it for other purposes (e.g., idea generation, editing).

Table 8: Content Creation vs. Plagiarism Rates

The p-value is less than 0.05, indicating a statistically significant difference. We reject the null hypothesis (H₀) and accept the alternative hypothesis (H₁). This suggests that students who use ChatGPT for content creation are more likely to plagiarize than those using it for idea generation or editing.

Hypothesis 4:

H₀: Academic discipline does not significantly influence plagiarism rates or ChatGPT usage frequency.

Table 9: Academic Discipline vs. Plagiarism Rates

The F-value is significant, and the p-value is less than 0.01, indicating that academic discipline has a significant effect on both plagiarism rates and the frequency of ChatGPT usage. We reject the null hypothesis (H₀) and accept the alternative hypothesis (H₁). This shows that students from different academic disciplines exhibit different levels of ChatGPT usage and plagiarism tendencies.

Hypothesis 5:

H₀: Awareness of academic integrity does not significantly influence students' responsible use of ChatGPT.

Table 10: Awareness of Integrity vs. Responsible Use of ChatGPT

The t-value is significant, and the p-value is less than 0.05, indicating a statistically significant positive relationship. We reject the null hypothesis (H₀) and accept the alternative hypothesis (H₁). This suggests that higher awareness of academic integrity encourages responsible use of ChatGPT and reduces unethical practices.

Hypothesis 6:

H₀: There is no significant difference in plagiarism rates between students who use ChatGPT occasionally versus those who use it daily.

Table 11: Daily vs. Occasional Use of ChatGPT

The p-value is less than 0.01, indicating a statistically significant difference. We reject the null hypothesis (H₀) and accept the alternative hypothesis (H₁). This suggests that students who use ChatGPT daily are more likely to plagiarize compared to those who use it occasionally.”

The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools and systems, particularly, one such as ChatGPT, presents incredible promise and potential and also considerable challenges to education. The application of AI technologies to personify academic efficiency, the generation of content, and the support of the complex research work have proved to have high potentials (Gao et al., 2023). ChatGPT has become increasingly popular among students in recent years, since it can generate text that reads just like it was produced by a human, given a prompt. This aspect has raised concerns about the influence such tools create on the academic integrity including on the plagiarism aspect ( Sharma et al., 2024). The fact that students now have open access to such AI tools has also summoned a breach in the academic context, with students being able to create academic papers that are not necessarily of their own creation but a combination of AI-generated outputs adding to the list of the traditions of conventional plagiarism (Chaka, 2023; Manzoor et al., 2023). One of the key concerns connected with the use of ChatGPT and other tools of this kind is the problem of academic integrity (Baron, 2024). According to the tradition, the plagiarism was characterized as the direct transfer of the work of another person without any references. This definition is complicated when A I tools are used because they enable the students to author the text that might look like they are written by human beings when, in reality, they are produced by the A I (Kamat, 2024). As noted by Flaherty and Yurch (2024), there are certain ethical concerns of utilizing AI programs like ChatGPT to generate entire essays or research papers even though the usage of such programs may help students with their writing. Possible, many students fail to fully comprehend why it is important to write AI-generated content properly (Ibrahim, 2023 & Khalil & Er, 2023).

Additionally, traditional plagiarism detection software has lost its magnitude due to the rising advancement of AI-generated content (Ravichandran et al., 2024). Compared to copying and pasting directly into the paper, it is not possible to detect AI-generated content as problematic since it is unique and may change depending on the query the student is seeking answers to (Uzun, 2023). This leaves a new dilemma to the academic institutions, which is how they can promote authenticity of student work in an age where AI tools can easily circumvent the most customary surveillance mechanisms. This difficulty is exacerbated by the realization that most students have no idea of the ethical questions surrounding the use of AI tools to carry out their educational activities (Costa et al., 2024). These problems are poured into the inconsistent levels of awareness about academic integrity within different student demographics (Michel-Villarreal et al., 2023). Due to the lack of awareness among students about ethical requirements to use AI, there is a risk that a student might engage in activities that compromise the originality of his or her work, contributing to increasing AI-assisted plagiarism (Flaherty & Yurch, 2024). According to the research, the rate at which the ChatGPT is used has a high tendency of creating a considerable proportion of plagiarism when the tool is capitalized on along with generating content (Sharma et al., 2024). The results of this study reflect that the individuals who use ChatGPT regularly in content-generation are the most inclined to commit plagiarism compared to those students who use the tool to generate ideas, and those who use it when editing (Kiryakova & Angelova, 2023). This fact is also consistent with the findings of the work by Gao et al. (2023) who noted that the primary cause driving students to use ChatGPT or other related AI-based tools is to create content that is associated with rising plagiarism scores. Another connection in the paper is that learners who use ChatGPT to produce the material do not take part in learning activity with the same motivation because their work depends on the AI in providing the required material (Flaherty & Yurch, 2024). Lack of interaction with the given material could lead to loss of critical thinking and inability to synthesize the information on their own after the course (Baron, 2024).

The other valuable finding in this research is that academic integrity awareness contributes to mitigating the malpractice of plagiarism. Being better informed about the integrity of academic activities, the students demonstrated a lesser level of plagiarism (Costa et al., 2024). The study by Michel-Villarreal et al. (2023) also confirms this conclusion by stating that educating students on the necessity to possess academic integrity and morally use AI tools would lead to the decreased probability of academic dishonesty. Sensitization campaigns that emphasize on good citing habits and moral use of AI were also found to inculcate responsibility in the minds of the students (Sharma et al., 2024). However, it was reported that awareness rates are not evenly spread across all study disciplines with the humanities running at higher awareness levels compared to their more technical study disciplines (Baron, 2024). This disparity indicates that there is a lack of better and more general education campaigns that would decrease the ethical concerns about AI technologies (Gao et al., 2023). This analysis shows that institutions are supposed to reinterpret their approach towards plagiarism detection, as well as the creation of academic integrity in the age of artificial intelligence. The traditional detection tools cannot adequately be used to detect AI generated content (Ravichandran et al., 2024). This shortcoming leads to the necessity to develop new methods of detection which could help identify the AI-written text and differentiate it with the one written by people (Neysani et al., 2024). To add, the approach to teaching students needs to be strengthened by the institutions, as the topic of not only more conventional forms of plagiarism but also the question of the ethics of AI-based tool usage in the studies has to be discussed. There will be a need to cultivate a sense of awareness and accountability within educational facilities so that the instances in which the ChatGPT AI tool and other similar technologies are used in an unethical manner do not damage academic integrity (Uzun, 2023).

The results of the hypothesis testing add to the fact that the effects of the use of AI tools on the behavior of students should be understood more thoroughly. The researchers found positive correlations between the ChatGPT users and the plagiarism rates, which shows that its context should be considered (Sharma et al., 2024). To cite an example, it turned out that ChatGPT users who regularly produce content using this tool are more prone to plagiarism than those who use it occasionally or in other ways (such as generating ideas) (Gao et al., 2023). These findings have suggested that the more students depend on AI regarding content development, the less they will possess the knowledge to be creative and not do any independent search that could harm them in the long-run performance (Kamat, 2024).

This paper discusses how AI tools such as ChatGPT have affected the academic integrity of students and their knowledge of ethical behaviours, particularly plagiarism. The results provide strong relationships between high ChatGPT use and increased plagiarism, primarily when used to write content. This conforms to the past studies that students might use AI when creating the contents may be missing the critical thinking processes and the originality. The paper established that awareness of academic integrity is an important tool that is beneficial in controlling plagiarism. Students who had more knowledge about ethical principles showed a falling level of plagiarism, indicating the need to initiate training in AI tools on academic integrity. This study highlights that educative institutions should change their policies in light of the issues presented by AI tools in academic institutions. Increasingly complex AI-generated content is challenging the traditional models of detecting plagiarism and new techniques are needed to detect AI-aided plagiarism. Additionally, the academic community should be more focused on teaching students about the moral aspect of AI usage so that academic integrity could be preserved as the AI tools would further develop. Although the use of ChatGPT and AI tools can have massive potential in terms of improving academic work, the risk of them undermining academic integrity has to be cautioned. Students must develop an attitude of responsibility towards AI and institutions should be ready to introduce sustainable holistic educational structures in teaching the responsible approach to AI as well as academic integrity.

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