Caught using ChatGPT, student ends life. IIT Bombay reacts amid protests

IIT Bombay said a second-year student was counselled after he used ChatGPT during an examination. The institute said no disciplinary action was taken and the circumstances of his death are under investigation.

In Short

• The second-year student studied in Energy Science and Engineering department
• The institute said he uploaded the question paper to ChatGPT
• His instructor and department head discussed the examination incident with him

IIT Bombay has issued a statement following the death by suicide of a second-year student, clarifying that no disciplinary action had been initiated against him after he was found using a mobile phone and ChatGPT during an examination earlier in the day.

The student was enrolled in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay. According to the institute, he had uploaded the examination question paper on ChatGPT to seek answers.

IIT Bombay said the incident was discussed with the student by the instructor and the Head of the Department. The student was counselled and assured that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career.

“No disciplinary action was initiated against the student. The matter was also discussed with the student by the instructor and the Head of the Department, who counselled him and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career,” the institute said in the statement released in this regard.

The student subsequently returned to his hostel room. Later in the evening, he was found dead in his room.

The institute said it was “deeply saddened” by the loss of the student and was extending support to his friends, classmates, faculty members and others affected by the incident.

CIRCUMSTANCES BEING INVESTIGATED

IIT Bombay said the circumstances surrounding the student's death are being looked into by the appropriate authorities.

The institute's statement does not attribute the student's death to the examination incident. It instead details the sequence of events and says the student had been counselled and assured that the incident would not affect his academic career.

The statement comes after reports about the student's death following the examination incident in which he was found using a mobile phone and had uploaded the question paper to ChatGPT.

The institute has now clarified that no disciplinary action had been initiated against the student in connection with the incident.

The student's death has prompted concern on the IIT Bombay campus, with the institute saying it is extending support to those affected by the tragedy.

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