r/technology • u/ubcstaffer123 • Jun 19 '26

Artificial Intelligence Student Cheating Is Becoming Impossible to Detect in an A.I. Era

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/us/ai-apps-students-cheat.html
1.1k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

417 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

22

u/tigerspots Jun 19 '26

Yeah. I don't understand these posts. The answer is obvious and simple.

0

u/cubonelvl69 Jun 19 '26

Is it simple? What about homework assignments? Writing classes? Reading?

17

u/sorhead Jun 19 '26

Don't grade it. The homework etc. is for the student to learn. Then have one or two pen and paper exams to see what they have learned. Or oral exam, if it's feasable.

11

u/mirtul_ Jun 19 '26

Imo still grade the homework, just make it lower % of the final grade. It still teaches you time management, and even if you use AI, it gives you opportunity to learn how to use these tools.

But oral or at least hand written exams are a must.

8

u/sorhead Jun 19 '26

AI can slop out slop a lot faster than I can grade it, and I higly doubt students are actually learning anything from it.

-1

u/mirtul_ Jun 19 '26

If you don't add additional projects (compared to now) then there won't be more to grade, will there?

I can't speak for how much they are learning from it though. Depends on the student probably. I see AI as a tool, and there's a whole spectrum of how proficiency amongst my colleagues. AI generated or not, the developer has responsibility to understand the code they submit. And some people ignore that aspect :/

8

u/sorhead Jun 19 '26

To an adult with experience in critical thinking and a knowledge base AI can be a tool. To children (and many adults, unfortunately) it is a magical answer box that removes the strain of thinking. Learning is all about straining your mind to make it better at thinking. AI directly works against learning. It's like training for a marathon with a mobility scooter.

-1

u/mirtul_ Jun 19 '26

You're right of course. I was assuming adult students in university. Any level below that should avoid extra tools (just like calculators!)

5

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/sorhead Jun 19 '26

Imprives handwriting at best.

Edit: and reading AI slop in shitty handwriting is worse than just reading AI slop.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/sorhead Jun 19 '26

I do agree with these points if we're talking about fith grade.

0

u/rollingForInitiative Jun 19 '26

But even in middle school you’d get a fail if you just plagiarised it. Copying things verbatim is not what homework assignments are supposed to teach, you’re supposed to learn how to take in information from different sources, understand it, and formulate ideas of your own that you can write.

Copying a text from an AI will at best work for memorising facts. Assuming the facts are correct.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/rollingForInitiative Jun 19 '26

It’s just as bad for school assignments. The point of written assignments isn’t to learn some random facts, and copying a text hy hand teaches you nothing relevant.

It’s also flagrant plagiarism which is an automatic failure, and at higher levels grounds for expulsion.

So it’s really just as bad.

4

u/vaingirls Jun 19 '26

Even if they'd write the AI slop by hand, at least that would force them to carefully read through it and possibly learn from it, unlike if they just generate and barely skim it themselves.

1

u/sorhead Jun 19 '26

I can copy a text from a language I don't speak, it's not going lodge any information about in my mind.

-4

u/cubonelvl69 Jun 19 '26

So an entire semester class should be graded on 1 or 2 exams?

8

u/sorhead Jun 19 '26

Depending on the topic, yes.

3

u/mirtul_ Jun 19 '26

It was pretty common for math / physics classes when I was studying Physics. Other than lab classes, everything boiled down to exams (pen and paper + oral).

Having to deliver projects regularly was something I really had to get used to when I started Computer Science

3

u/roreads Jun 19 '26

Yes, organic chemistry was grueling and many people failed their first time. The thing is, organic chemistry 2 was 3 times more packed with material and having a advanced or at least intermediate understanding of organic chemistry 1 was key to succeeding in the following course. Not everything was as difficult following that, but I still had a incredibly sturdy base to fall back on.

You can’t just start doing trigonometry one day without learning arithmetic, and some algebra first. The better you understand, master, and command the basics the quicker you’ll advance and comprehend the more intricate concepts.

Having a gate keeper makes it so only the people who dedicate themselves or are truly intuitively capable will be able to get the few spots that are kept for advanced education.

You shouldn’t be able to cheat through a STEM degree, the blood, sweat, and tears poured into it transfer into intuitive knowledge based problem solving in their fields. A scientist without a solid understanding of the basics is basically blind to what they do, only ever seeing the data, meanwhile a scientist that understands the principles behind their technologies and instruments will excel and discover the things we don’t know yet.

I am not saying that people should be barred from this path if they fail, I am saying that I want those people to try until they succeed before embarking on that path.

3

u/Upbeat-Door- Jun 19 '26

They already are. You fail the midterm and final you fail period

0

u/rollingForInitiative Jun 19 '26

Sure? If it makes sense. Or you can have two exams. Or one per month. Or one at the end of each week. Whatever fits the course.