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UC Berkeley professor refuses to grade his students’ homework after noticing concerning detail
A college professor has refused to grade students' homework after finding it increasingly difficult to weed out answers generated by artificial intelligence tools.
Richard Borcherds, a renowned mathematician and UC Berkeley professor, has claimed that students' use of AI has undermined the value of traditional homework and its marking systems.
It is becoming almost impossible to tell human-made and AI-generated work apart
He told The California Post: “Student use of AI for homework is now widespread.
“Grading for correctness just adds a huge incentive for them to use AI for homework instead of doing it themselves, and penalizes students for honesty.”
Now the educator awards credit based primarily on whether students complete their assignments rather than whether their answers are correct because it has become extremely difficult for teachers to distinguish work generated by AI and students themselves.
Borcherds admitted: “There is no easy way to tell the difference between human and AI-generated work.
“Occasionally one could tell it is AI because AI made a few characteristic errors, but AI has now improved so much that it rarely makes obvious mistakes.”
He also earnestly added that paying markers to evaluate AI-generated answers is a waste of time and money.
What does AI mean for the future of mathematics
The professor also discussed his concerns with Berkeley's college newspaper, Daily Californian, which is thankfully still human-written, telling the outlet: “If AI continues to improve at present rate, then, in a few years, there’ll be nothing human mathematicians can do that AI can’t do better.”
Discussing the future for aspiring mathematicians, he noted that just five years ago industry professionals were positive that their field was somewhat protected from the powerful technological force, but things have advanced rapidly.
Borcherds even told the student newspaper: “I have no idea what to advise. I even asked ChatGPT this exact question, and even ChatGPT said it didn’t have any idea what was going to happen.”
Scarily, he added: “There have been plenty of technical breakthroughs in the past - hand weaving was put out of business by looms, and horses were put out of business by motor cars, and so on. This is the first time anything like this has happened in mathematics, though.”
With few options left, the professor now relies nearly exclusively on in-person exams in which students are not allowed to use electronic devices, as online exams have become a "waste of time".
This is because he has noticed across the board that average scores are significantly higher than in online exams.
Echoing the thoughts of millions, Borcherds concluded with: “If the worst effect of AI on society is that it is harder to assess homework, then I will be very relieved."