MUMBAI, June 6 -- The University of Mumbai (MU) has set up a panel to review allegations that course material prepared for its Centre for Distance and Online Education (CDOE) contained chapters written using ChatGPT. Last week, distance learning students highlighted that portions of a psychology study book appeared to have been copied directly from the artificial intelligence (AI) tool. The students' claim sparked controversy after a video prepared by them on the issue was shared on social media which went viral immediately. In the video, students are seen pointing out that a Semester IV psychology book titled 'Social Problems: Skills and Intervention' ended with an unexpectedly jarring conclusion. The text read, "Next Step for you: would you like to generate Unit 2 specific intervention strategies.," a prompt that resembles instructions typically generated by ChatGPT. The incident has raised concerns among students and academics about the quality of study material being provided to learners enrolled in the university's distance and online education programmes, many of who are working professionals heavily dependent on course content provided by the university. Calling this an unfortunate turn of events, a retired psychology professor, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, "Universities are expected to prepare academic material through subject experts and proper review mechanisms. This issue may not be limited to a psychology text book alone." The controversy has also elicited a strong political reaction, with members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS) demanding the resignation of Shivaji Sargar, director of CDOE. MNVS Secretary Nitin Nanavare said, "The institute has become a symbol of administrative negligence and irresponsibility." The student wing of MNS also cited a series of recent issues involving MU, such as TYBCom question papers being leaked over three consecutive days, errors in the results of nearly 2,000 M Com students, the allotment of examination centres located more than 50 kilometres from students' residences, delays in the distribution of study materials, and the recent allegations regarding the use of ChatGPT in preparing academic content. Responding to the criticism, an official from the CDOE department said: "The university has already taken action in connection with the question paper leaks and errors in M Com results. Regarding allegations over a chapter in a course book being devised by ChatGPT, UGC has explicitly stated that AI tools can be used for specific purposes such as ensuring grammatical accuracy, refining language, enhancing content coherence, and obtaining editorial assistance. The extent of this usage must remain below 10%. Nevertheless, the CDOE has constituted a committee to conduct a thorough probe on the matter."...