In a February survey of the Upper School about Generative A.I. usage, 100% of students surveyed believed that getting Gen A.I. to write a paper was the wrong thing to do.  However, teachers must continuously create guidelines to stop Gen A.I.-created content from permeating their classrooms because it happens all the time. So why do students, many of whom claim to detest Gen A.I., still use it to cheat? For three reasons: pressure, accustomization, and confusion.

• Pressure.

Students at Country Day are under an incredible amount of pressure. Teachers have high expectations, parents want their children to go to a good college, and student-student rivalries abound. Whether the pressure stems from increasing teacher expectations, helicopter parenting tactics, or internalized student motivators, so many LJCDS students fear making academic mistakes. And when the pressure goes up and the deadline approaches, students often feel forced to resort to unsavory methods.

• Accustomization.

As Generative A.I. becomes increasingly prevalent in today’s culture, students (and faculty) are slowly becoming adjusted to its presence. Take this hypothetical student, Sam. Sam has been average for most of their academic career. When they write essays, they like to have one of their friends read it through and give comments before they submit it. One day, no friends respond to Sam’s texts. Instead, Sam decides to put the essay into a Generative A.I. to see what feedback the A.I. would give them. It recommends they tighten their conclusion, use fewer verbs of being, and create a stronger thesis; this advice might match what Sam’s friends could say, but they receive the information more quickly and more in depth. Next time Sam writes an essay, they go straight to Gen A.I. for feedback. This time, Sam asks the A.I. to bold all verbs of “being” so that they can change the verbs. One sentence is tricky to change, however, so Sam asks the A.I. to help, as they might ask a friend. Then the Gen A.I. gives them a refined version of the sentence without the verb of being. Sam continues doing this, and over time, Sam begins to use Gen A.I. to tighten paragraphs, restate theses, and, yes, change more verbs of being. 

Is Sam cheating? Perhaps. But was the intention to cheat ever present? No! Sam simply used a tool at their disposal, a more efficient tool than ones from before. Dear reader, you might see this paragraph and think “I would never do that.” But some of you will read this paragraph and think “Hang on a minute… Am I cheating?”

• Confusion.

Let’s say our hypothetical student Sam went to a friend and asked them to fix the verbs of being, give suggestions on how to tighten paragraphs and fix the thesis, and then turned in the essay. Odds are that it wouldn’t be counted as cheating. But the fact that Sam used Gen A.I., instead of a friend might trigger an accusation of academic dishonesty. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s okay and what’s not. Can a student ask Gen A.I. for feedback? Can a student use Gen A.I. for citations? This varies teacher-by-teacher, or even assignment-by-assignment. While teachers always intend to help their students learn and grow, even a little bit of opacity could trigger something that could be considered cheating through Gen A.I.. While some of the time this dishonesty is definitely the student’s fault, other times the blame might not be so clear. The use of Gen A.I. is still new enough that teachers and administrations–at LJCDS and across the country–are seeking answers to this current dilemma as well. And until there are more concrete resolutions, the guidelines can remain murky.

So, what can be done?

We can try to stop emphasizing name-brand colleges. Students might prosper more fully at a small liberal arts school, and perhaps even find the experience less anxiety-ridden in the process. We can emphasize that turning in a bad rough draft is better than falsifying work. The ‘ick’ that students describe when they plagiarize should be triggered by Gen A.I. usage as well. We can try to create good peer review scenarios. According to the February survey, many respondents use Gen A.I. as a mode of feedback or to help with ideas, rather than work with another student. We can also have open conversations with teachers and students as we work together to navigate the presence of Gen A.I. as a tool in academics and in the world beyond school.

To quote Scottish poet Robert Burns, “The best laid plans of mice and men ‘gang aft angley,’” which means even the most well-planned ideas can sometimes go awry. But the next time a deadline looms in the distance or you can’t find a peer reviewer, don’t reach for Gen A.I.. Ask a teacher. Ask a friend. Go find someone, in-person, and ask them to talk it over with you. Odds are, you’ll get a better result and maybe even build a better friendship.

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