Figures & data
Figure 1. Diagram illustrating the networked nature of data flows and actors within the AI supply chain. Adapted from Cobbe, Veale and Singh (2023). Source: Jennifer Cobbe, Michael Veale and Jatinder Singh, ‘Understanding Accountability in Algorithmic Supply Chains’, Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (Association for Computing Machinery 2023) <https://doi.org/gsb98p>.
Figure 2. EssayAid claims to be registered in the United Kingdom, and advertises on TikTok. Source: TikTok Ad Library <https://library.tiktok.com/ads/detail/?ad_id=1761732337777713> accessed 4 September 2023
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Figure 3. EssayGenius asks individuals for a prompt, and writes a short essay on the basis of this. It offers more functionality to paying members, including the ability to suggest, complete and rephrase terms.
Figure 4. AI Task Wizard’s simplistic website, centre, with one of several advertisements that ran on TikTok, left. Source: (TikTok Ad Library <https://library.tiktok.com/ads/detail/?ad_id=1758267600437297> accessed 4 September 2023) Right: an advert for Friday: AI Essay Writer. Source: (TikTok Ad Library <https://library.tiktok.com/ads/detail/?ad_id=1768865302800401> accessed 4 September 2023).
Figure 5. Left: Quillbot allows individuals to paste text and have it rewritten, in a ‘more scholarly way’. It offers a premium service for 100 USD a year. Centre: Quillbot advertising on Meta services with a ‘smart start’ feature to ‘create an outline’ that is AI generated, allowing you to write essays in ‘under an hour’. Source: (Meta Ads Library https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?id=169125769545892 accessed 4 September 2023). Right: Quillbot advertising on Google services as an ‘article rewriter’. Source: (Google Ads Transparency Center, <https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR15286630488773492737/creative/CR18265641898590863361?region=GB> accessed 4 September 2023).
Figure 6. Right: Phrasly.ai states that it is designed to ‘transform AI-generated content’, ‘boost grades’, and cites the specific assessment of a ‘Doctorate’ in its writing style menu. Left: Phrasly advertising on Google. Source: (Google Ads Transparency Center <http://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR06266791351438802945> accessed 7 September 2023).
Figure 7. EasyEssay.ai’s interface.
Figure 8. TikTok advertisements for Words and Paper. Source: (TikTok Ad Library <https://library.tiktok.com/ads/detail/?ad_id=1763589432655922> accessed 4 September 2023).
Figure 9. Left: the interface of Scite Assistant, with output to the prompt ‘Write an essay on plagiarism, essay mills and the law in different jurisdictions’, featuring references that can be examined in context on the right hand side. Right: advertising copy from Scite on its website, suggesting its use in writing an essay.
Figure 10. Advertisements for BrainstormGPT on Twitter and on Meta (Instagram).
Figure 11. Advertisement on TikTok for Sourcely. Source: (TikTok Ad Library https://library.tiktok.com/ads/detail/?ad_id=1757088495907889 accessed 4 September 2023).
Figure 12. Page listing Source.ly’s users. Source: (Sourcely <https://www.sourcely.net/old> accessed 4 September 2023).
Table 1. Maximal material scope of the legislation considered.
Figure 13. A wide array of adverts from the Meta Ad Library advertising ‘classic’ essay mills.
