Professor gives his class perfect scores after realizing most were cheating on their final papers

A professor's message of "frustration and sadness" went viral after he caught many of his students using AI on their papers. But this story didn't play out in the way you might expect. Instead of punishing everyone with zeroes or taking disciplinary action, he wound up giving them all full credit.

On one hand, it's an exasperated reaction that many educators can relate to in the ChatGPT era, as grading written assignments has become more complicated. On the other hand, the response is part of a lesson about the importance of creative thinking and self-empowerment.

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"I am saying this not out of anger but out of frustration and sadness"

The story blew up from a student's post in the /mildlyinfuriating subreddit, where they claimed "three weeks of hard work on a paper" was wasted thanks to their classmates' use of AI. (Ironically, their paper was an essay arguing "against the use of AI.") But the professor's message is more nuanced than a simple "I give up" sentiment.

"I want to take a moment to speak candidly with all of you," he writes. "Over the past week, as I have been reading your final papers, I have noticed a level of AI-generated writing that has left me deeply disappointed. Many of the submissions are so heavily AI-infused that they no longer reflect your voices, your thinking, or the skills this course is designed to build. It is disheartening for me as your instructor, and for what this means for your own learning."

He argued that, when using AI to write papers, students are "harming" themselves. "Writing is not an arbitrary hoop to jump through; it is one of the few durable intellectual skills that will serve you across professions, relationships, and civic life," he writes. "When you outsource that work, you weaken not just your ability to write, but also your ability to reason, to communicate, and to advocate for yourselves…I am saying this not out of anger but out of frustration and sadness. I care about your development, I care about our state, and I am watching too many of you short-circuit your own growth and our collective future for the illusion of convenience."

The professor says that, in an "unusual decision," he will give everyone a 10/10 on their final paper and cancel their final assignment, though he does also offer to give individual feedback to any student who emails him.

"At this point, attempting to separate authentic work from AI-produced work has become counterproductive, and this course was never meant to be a surveillance exercise," he continues. "I hate, absolutely hate, how AI has forced me to turn into a punitive detective, rather than, well, a teacher. I reject that completely. My goal is, and has always been, your learning."

He says that his decision wasn't made lightly.

"I need you to hear this clearly: This is not a reward. It is a warning," he writes. "If you leave this course without having practiced your own writing, you will feel the consequences later, academically, professionally, and personally. AI cannot think for you. It cannot develop your voice. It cannot build skills you do not use. I sincerely hope you reflect on the choices you made in this course and how they align with what you want for yourselves. You deserve more than to let a machine do your thinking…I cannot want your learning more than you do."

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In the Reddit comments, people largely reacted to the teacher's message. The responses are fascinating, with many supporting the instructor's words of wisdom and others saluting the student for avoiding the temptation of AI, even if their classmates didn't.

“’I cannot want your learning more than you do.’ If that doesn’t sink deep for people, there’s no saving them."

"Dang that is a very bold statement and cuts to the core of what a student is supposed to be."

"The professor said you can send in your writing and he would offer feedback. I get your frustration… but why not turn it in anyway and say what you just explained here. You worked hard on this and deserve recognition. Great job at not taking the easy way out, btw… that’s super refreshing!"

"These kids: 'Gemini, summarize this email.'"

"I feel bad for the instructor. The summation of their feelings of defeat and their struggle will hopefully compel a few people to try harder."

"I think the instructor's point is that by canceling the assignment, they're losing the opportunity to learn and develop their skills - that's the punishment. Even though the people who cheated won't realize it, now or possibly ever…A genuinely sad state of affairs. I get where they're coming from, though, and I hope the students do at some point realize what they missed out on."

"Great quote recently from Ted Chiang (sci-fi author) when asked about AI use in education: 'Your job is not to turn in completed assignments, it is to learn how to think.'"

"Listen to what your teacher is trying to say. You did NOT do this assignment for nothing, because the point of the class is not to hand in a paper and get a grade. It's what you learned, what skills you mobilized. And you did that, while your fellow students who used AI didn't. You're right to be proud of your work, and what others did and what the teacher decided to do in reply doesn't take anything away from that. If you want feedback on your paper in order to improve, I would write to your teacher and explain this to him. Great job not taking the stupid way out, and good luck for your other finals."

One user did note that "a large number of the AI-detection tools are pretty inaccurate," an argument supported by the University of San Diego Legal Research Center and Ars Technica. "As tempting as it is to rely on AI tools to detect AI-generated writing," the latter wrote, "evidence so far has shown that they are not reliable."

This issue isn't going away, especially with AI growing even more sophisticated in mimicking human writing. The professor's "warning" may be even more relevant in a few years.

So what can other educators do? MIT Sloan Teaching & Learning Technologies offer a helpful guide, breaking down how "clear guidelines, open dialogue with students, creative assignment design, and other strategies can promote academic honesty and critical thinking in an AI-enabled world."

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