No need to listen, read, write or think: AI will do college for you

Going to lectures, reading and writing aren't necessary, reports Matthew Gault on 404. Companion claims to have developed an agentic AI tool called Einstein that will log into Canvas, a popular edtech platform, to complete assignments, participate in discussions and take tests with no input needed from the "student."

I suspect it's not real. The link to Einstein’s website doesn't work for me, and I wonder if it's a way to scare professors away from using edtech platforms that are susceptible to cheating. But, these days, who knows?

“Universities…by and large adopted a transactive model of education,” said Matthew Kirschenbaum, a University of Virginia professor, who's written about the impact of artificial intelligence. “Students see their diploma as a credential" that will be "the springboard to economic stability and prosperity.”

If students are paying for the credential -- not for learning -- then why not have AI do the work?

Agentic AI tools could destroy the credibility of online learning, says Anna Mills, an English professor at the College of Marin. That could be devastating for students who don't have the time or money for traditional college classes. “If there’s no credibility . . . you’ve just ruined the investment and the learning goals and the access to meaningful learning that that they can then also use for employment of students who are underprivileged, who can’t come to the classroom, who are working full time and raising families and trying to get an education.”

Half of teenagers say they use AI to help with homework, but only 10 percent say they do "all or most" of their work with chatbots' help, reports the Pew Research Center. The most common use is for research, which seems legitimate.

However, 59 percent of teens -- and 76 percent of those who use chatbots at least some of the time -- say students use AI to cheat at least "somewhat often." A third say it happens "extremely or very often."