New York Magazine describes colleges testing new detection methods during the fourth academic year of widespread AI use. Students respond by refining techniques to fool detectors or alter AI output to appear more human. Commenters including Tyler Austin Harper and others note that tech-focused solutions create an arms race. They argue universities should instead reduce class sizes and hire more full-time faculty rather than expand administration. The article states the tech-forward approach is not succeeding.
Colleges are testing new ways to catch AI use. It largely isn’t helping. Instead of doing their work, many students are spending their time getting better at fooling AI detectors or degrading the tech’s output enough to make it look like a student’s.
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New York Magazine reports on university efforts to detect AI use in student work.
New York Magazine describes colleges testing new detection methods during the fourth academic year of widespread AI use. Students respond by refining techniques to fool detectors or alter AI output to appear more human. Commenters including Tyler Austin Harper and others note that tech-focused solutions create an arms race. They argue universities should instead reduce class sizes and hire more full-time faculty rather than expand administration. The article states the tech-forward approach is not succeeding.
Colleges are testing new ways to catch AI use. It largely isn’t helping. Instead of doing their work, many students are spending their time getting better at fooling AI detectors or degrading the tech’s output enough to make it look like a student’s.
New York Magazine@NYMagAs the fourth academic year of AI college begins, students keep finding innovative ways to skirt the rules. In the spring of 2025, a new class of AI tools became available to the public. Unlike mere chatbots, newer models can plan multistep tasks, call on external tools like web…
alex bronzini-vender@alexbronziniColleges are testing new ways to catch AI use. Students keep finding new ways around them. For @NYMag, I wrote about the race to keep cheating.
Tyler Austin Harper@Tyler_A_HarperGreat piece that also gets at the obvious reality that the tech-forward approach to curbing AI cheating is a dead end—one that not only leads to a technological arms race between students and profs, but that turns cheating into a fun game of outwitting the surveillance overlords.
Lincoln Michel@TheLincolnThere are two paths here: 1) small classes and fulltime faculty 2) endless surveillance tech vs. cheating tech arms race I think we sadly know which option administrations will choose
Steve McGuire@sfmcguire79“Perhaps it is naïve to be like, Everyone should just be a more ethical and excellent teacher and transmit the love and passion that you have — but that’s how I feel.” It is indeed very naïve, especially in an age of mass education.
Wilfred Reilly@wil_da_beast630Literally just use blue books, for anything under 10p. long.
Positive accounts welcomed blue books and ending grades as practical ways to curb AI cheating in colleges, while negative accounts rejected the ideas as unworkable or criticized universities as obsolete and corrupt.
Based on 35 sentiment-bearing replies from 32 accounts across 5 conversations.
New York Magazine@NYMagAs the fourth academic year of AI college begins, students keep finding innovative ways to skirt the rules. In the spring of 2025, a new class of AI tools became available to the public. Unlike mere chatbots, newer models can plan multistep tasks, call on external tools like web…
alex bronzini-vender@alexbronziniColleges are testing new ways to catch AI use. Students keep finding new ways around them. For @NYMag, I wrote about the race to keep cheating.
Carlo Bronzini Vender@carlo_bronzini@alexbronzini @NYMag This is the most fascinating article on AI I have read in a long time!!!
Max Jordan Nguemeni@MaxJordan_N@alexbronzini @Tyler_A_Harper @NYMag Good job journalism dougie howser.
Steve Faktor@ideafaktory@alexbronzini @NYMag It's not cheating. It's academia clinging to an obsolete model of education in the face of disruptive change to their industry. https://x.com/ideafaktory/status/2041745055145218484?s=20
Hollis Robbins@anecdotal@alexbronzini @NYMag I will find a way to read your gated piece! (I am now too overwhelmed for another subscription)
Positive accounts welcomed blue books and ending grades as practical ways to curb AI cheating in colleges, while negative accounts rejected the ideas as unworkable or criticized universities as obsolete and corrupt.
Based on 35 sentiment-bearing replies from 32 accounts across 5 conversations.
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