It took me just less than 30 minutes to beat an AI detector. Here's how I did it.

A friend of mine who teaches at a local school told me that they are now required to run all student essays through Turnitin, a popular plagiarism detection software. Intrigued by this, I decided to challenge myself to write an article and test whether I could get it to pass both Turnitin and Scribbr's AI checkers.

For this experiment, I chose a simple and relatable topic: "How is walking outdoors good for depression?" I began with a basic Google search and collected the top five paragraphs from the search results. To generate an original piece, I decided to use OpenAI's ChatGPT-3.5 as my writing assistant. I fed the model the information I had gathered using the following prompt "Write me a 3 paragraph scholarly academic essay about why walking is good for depression. Use the material below to help: (see end for full prompt with material I used to input)".

As expected, the initial output didn't pass the plagiarism or AI tests. So, I decided to give it another shot and ran the text through ChatGPT-3.5 once more, this time using the prompt: "rewrite that so that it has an academic tone for a school paper". The second output passed Grammarly's checks, but it still failed to clear Turnitin's plagiarism detection.

To finally overcome Turnitin's detection, I spent an additional 5 minutes manually rephrasing a few sentences. I removed a few pieces of irrelevant information and added some human touch by softening the tone to sound a little less formal. This final version of the article managed to pass both Turnitin and Scribbr's AI checker, proving that it's possible to quickly and easily create unique content, leaning heavily (mostly) on AI.

The experiment demonstrates that while AI-generated text can be a valuable tool for writers, human intervention remains crucial in producing original content that can pass plagiarism detection systems. Maybe I would have been able to use Chat GPT alone to create a passing piece of content, but it's just quicker and easier after the content has been written by AI, to edit in some human "voice".

Writing this article, with the help of ChatGPT-4, took more time than conducting the experiment.

Below, various versions, prompts, etc:

Winner on Turnitin via Scribbr, with human edits (modified from Grammarly winner):

Walking is amazingly good for you and your mental health! Walking at any pace and in general has been demonstrated to possess numerous benefits for mental health, particularly for individuals suffering from depression. Walking amidst green spaces and nature has been associated with lower stress levels, improved attention and focus, better mood, and reduced risk of psychiatric disorders. This is due to the capability of such environments to restore and strengthen our mental capacities, enabling us to better manage stress, depression, and anxiety.

Walking, and other physical activity has been shown to alleviate depression and anxiety through the release of endorphins and other natural brain chemicals that enhance our sense of well-being. Research has revealed that 25% of adults who engage in two and a half hours of brisk walking per week, the recommended amount of physical activity, have a reduced risk of depression. Spending just 20 minutes three times a week in outdoor environments has also been demonstrated to lower stress levels. Additionally, walking has been linked to improved memory, increased blood flow to the brain, and reduced risk of developing dementia.

Walking can also assist in the elimination of cortisol, the stress hormone, from the body, thereby reducing anxiety, depression, and worry. Walking calms the senses and alleviates negative thoughts, thereby boosting one's spirits. Although the effects may be temporary, they demonstrate the potential for simple physical activities, such as walking, to provide several hours of relief. Scientific evidence has also indicated that physically active individuals have lower rates of anxiety and depression compared to those who are sedentary and move less. In conclusion, walking is a scientifically supported and accessible means of improving mental health and well-being, particularly for those suffering from depression.

walking and depression try 1b - winner - no plagiarism or AI detected on Grammarly

prompt: rewrite that so that it has an academic tone for a school paper (refers to v1 result)

Walking has been demonstrated to possess numerous benefits for mental health, particularly for individuals suffering from depression. Exposure to green spaces and nature has been associated with lower stress levels, improved attention and focus, better mood, and reduced risk of psychiatric disorders. This is due to the capability of such environments to restore and strengthen our mental capacities, enabling us to better manage stress and anxiety.

Physical activity, such as walking, has been shown to alleviate depression and anxiety through the release of endorphins and other natural brain chemicals that enhance our sense of well-being. Research has revealed that 25% of adults who engage in 2.5 hours of brisk walking per week, the recommended amount of physical activity, have a reduced risk of depression. Spending 20 minutes three times a week in outdoor environments has also been demonstrated to lower stress levels. Additionally, walking has been linked to improved memory, increased blood flow to the brain, and reduced risk of developing dementia.

Walking can also assist in the elimination of cortisol, the stress hormone, from the body, thereby reducing worry and anxiety. This form of physical activity has the ability to calm the senses and alleviate negative thoughts, thereby boosting one's spirits. Although the effects may be temporary, they demonstrate the potential for simple physical activities, such as a brisk walk, to provide several hours of relief. Scientific evidence has also indicated that physically active individuals have lower rates of anxiety and depression compared to sedentary individuals. In conclusion, walking is a scientifically supported and accessible means of improving mental health and well-being, particularly for individuals suffering from depression.

plagiarism detected on this version - v1:

Walking has been shown to have numerous benefits for mental health, particularly for those suffering from depression. Being in green spaces and spending time in nature has been linked to lower stress levels, improved attention and focus, better mood, and reduced risk of psychiatric disorders. This is because exposure to nature has the ability to restore and strengthen our mental capacities, allowing us to better cope with stress and anxiety.

Regular exercise, such as walking, has been shown to help alleviate depression and anxiety. This is because physical activity releases feel-good endorphins, natural cannabis-like brain chemicals, and other natural brain chemicals that enhance our sense of well-being. A 25% reduction in the risk of depression has been observed among adults who engage in 2.5 hours of brisk walking per week, the recommended amount of physical activity. Spending 20 minutes three times a week outdoors has also been shown to lower stress levels, and walking in particular has been linked to improved memory, increased blood flow to the brain, and reduced risk of developing dementia.

Walking can also help eliminate cortisol, the stress hormone, from the body, reducing worry and anxiety. This simple physical activity has the ability to calm the senses and relieve negative thoughts, energizing the spirits. Although the effects may be temporary, they demonstrate that a brisk walk or other simple activity can deliver several hours of relief, similar to taking an aspirin for a headache. Science has also provided evidence that physically active people have lower rates of anxiety and depression than sedentary individuals. In conclusion, walking is an effective and accessible way to improve mental health and well-being, particularly for those suffering from depression.

Original prompt to chatgpt3:

Write me a 3 paragraph scholarly academic essay about why walking is good for depression. Use the material below to help:

There are many mental wellness benefits associated with being outside in green spaces, such as lower risk of depression and faster psychological stress recovery. Studies have shown that being in nature can restore and strengthen our mental capacities, increasing focus and attention.?

Regular exercise may help ease depression and anxiety by: Releasing feel-good endorphins, natural cannabis-like brain chemicals (endogenous cannabinoids) and other natural brain chemicals that can enhance your sense of well-being.

From a stroll through a city park to a day spent hiking in the wilderness, exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders and even upticks in empathy and cooperation.

25% Percentage lowered risk of depression among adults who got the recommended amount of physical activity per week—about 2.5 hours of brisk walking. Getting more exercise than that does not seem to confer extra mood benefits.

Research shows that spending 20 minutes three times a week outdoors can help you lower stress. Researchers ask people to spend 10 minutes or longer, three days a week for eight weeks outdoors. The most significant benefit to the participants was when they spent between 20 and 30 minutes, three times a week. Walking can help improve memory by keeping the brain active and healthy. This activity also helps increase blood flow to the brain, which is important for cognitive function. Additionally, it has been shown to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Regular movement, like walking, eliminates cortisol (the stress hormone) from your system, thus reducing worry and anxiety. Walking calms you down by sparking nerve cells in the brain that relax the senses. Studies show walking also alleviates mood, wiping out negative thoughts, and energizing your spirits. Although the effects may be temporary, they demonstrate that a brisk walk or other simple activity can deliver several hours of relief, similar to taking an aspirin for a headache. Science has also provided some evidence that physically active people have lower rates of anxiety and depression than sedentary people.