"Meanwhile, tools meant to detect AI cheating produce too many false positives to be reliable, he added. "Now that most mental effort tied to writing is optional, we need new ways to require the work necessary for learning," Shirky explained. "That means moving away from take-home assignments and essays and toward in-class blue book essays, oral examinations, required office hours and other assessments that call on students to demonstrate knowledge in real time.""
"Such a shift would mark a return to much older practices that date back to Europe's medieval era, when books were scarce and a university education focused on oral instruction instead of written assignments. In medieval times, students often listened to teachers read from books, and some schools even discouraged students from writing down what they heard, Shirky said. The emphasis on writing came hundreds of years later in Europe and reached U.S. schools in the late 19th century."
Generative AI and chatbots have enabled students to outsource writing tasks, increasing reliance on automated tools to complete assignments and skip readings. Detection tools for AI-generated work produce many false positives and are unreliable. Most mental effort tied to writing has become optional, creating a need for assessment methods that require active demonstration of learning. Recommended practices include moving away from take-home essays to in-class blue-book essays, oral examinations, required office hours, and real-time assessments. These approaches mirror medieval university practices when scarce books made oral instruction predominant, with writing emphasis arriving much later.
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