BOULDER, Colo. — Researchers in Colorado and Pennsylvania have developed a series of artificial intelligence tools that can scan through open-ended essays in college applications.in the journal “Science Advances” and was developed by researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder and University of Pennsylvania.
“We advocate for transparency, where the AI provides explanations and clearly communicates when it is less confident in its decisions,” said Sidney D’Mello, professor in the Institute of Cognitive Science and Department of Computer Science at CU Boulder. “People can then decide for themselves how much they should trust it.”
Professionals scored the essays for evidence of seven traits that colleges might want to see in incoming freshmen. Traits included intrinsic motivation and what the researchers call"prosocial purpose" or the willingness to help others. Afterward, when the platforms read new essays, their results closely lined up with the judgment of the human readers.