When professors realized how widespread this was, they contacted about 100 students who appeared to be cheating. “We issued them a warning and asked them: ‘Please explain what you just did,'” Fagen-Ulmschneider said in a statement. Instagram video discuss the situation.
The apologies came back from the students, first in trickles, then in droves. The teachers were initially moved by this acceptance of responsibility and contrition… until they realized that 80% of the apologies were worded almost the same way and appeared to be generated by AI.
So on October 17, during class, Flanagan and Fagen-Ulmschneider took their class to task by posting a mixed-up image of the apologies, each with the same phrase “sincere apologies.” No disciplinary action was taken against the students and the whole situation was treated lightly, but the warning was real. Stop doing this. Flanagan said she hopes it will be a “life lesson” for students.
It’s time for a life lesson!
Credit: Instagram
On a University of Illinois subreddit, students shared their own experiences of the same class and the use of AI on campus. One student claimed to be a teaching assistant for the Data Science Discovery course and said that in addition to not being present, many students would use AI to solve the (relatively easy) problems. AI tools often “use functions that weren’t taught in class”, which betrays the game quite easily.
Another TA claimed that “it’s insane how pervasive AI errors are in 75% of work turned in,” while another student complained about being a course assistant where “students had to write a 75-word paragraph every week and it was all AI generated.”
You don’t have to read these kinds of topics well to find many students who feel wronged because they were accused of using AI, but didn’t. Given the mediocrity of most AI detection tools, this is entirely plausible; and if AI detectors are not used, accusations often come down to a hunch.
