u/Otherwise_Look_8137

My position puts me in contact with a lot of graduate students. I’m not on their dissertation committees or anything, but I work with them a lot. Over the last couple years, I’m meeting more and more who openly admit to using LLMs to write their dissertations, seminar papers, articles, etc. And I don’t mean the LLMs clean them up. The students plug in what they want to say and then the LLM churns out whole articles or chapters. When I ask whether they disclose this to committees or publishers, I get a lot of hemming and hawing or unconvincing, “Sure,” responses.

If you are someone on here who does this, are you admitting to it? Are your chairs or advisors or publishers cool with it?

Just some context:

I understand that certain AI models have a lot of potential for medical fields and other STEM fields. I get it.

But, often when admins and others say the word AI they really mean LLMs and that those of us in non-STEM fields should use LLMs more in our teaching and allow students to use it in their work. I use LLMs from time to time, but what am I missing here? I don’t see how they are going to have some huge impact on most jobs, especially to the point where it is vital that I teach all of my students how to use them. They save me a little time, maybe, and maybe some cognitive exhaustion, but I’m really not blown away by LLMs, even if they improve a lot.

University of Michigan Drops First-Semester Grades to ‘Curb Mental Health Crisis’

The University of Michigan will drop grades for first-semester freshmen next year in an effort to “curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals,” according to the school.

Instead of a letter grade, first-semester transcripts will show “pass or no credit.” The program is designed to help students “acclimate to the demands of college and allow intrinsic motivations to guide personally meaningful academic journeys,” the school said.

I assign a profile essay. Have for 30 years. Student interviews a person, records it, writes a paper based off the recording. Citations are timestamps. Should be pretty easy. Has been easy pre-AI. Now, students cannot do it. I get so many requests for alternative assignments. Students claim they don’t know anyone. Claim anxiety. Want a list of questions from me. Even after the interview:

“So, what do I put in the paper?”

”Information from the interview.”

”Yeah, but what parts?”

”You have to decide that.”

”But how?”

”Start with what you found interesting.”

”How do I know if something’s interesting?”

”You’re asking me how you find something interesting?”

”Yeah.”

”You realize I didn’t talk to the person, right? I don’t know them. … OK, what’s something you talked about?”

”Um, their childhood.”

“OK, start there. That’s a good place to start.”

”But, what do I say?”

“What did they say about it?”

”I don’t remember.”

“Well, that’s what the recording is for.”

”The recording?”

”Yeah, of the interview.”

”But, what part of what they said should I include?”

“What‘s something you found interesting about their childhood?”

”Could I write about my grandpa instead?”

”You‘d have to interview him.”

”He’s dead.”

”Well, you can’t interview a dead person.”

“But, I remember him and I could have the essay turned in later today.”

And on and on and on.

Any work that even makes it difficult to offload to AI, they can’t do.

Most of the time when I match with someone on the apps, and we agree to meet up, the day of the date, I’m usually hoping they cancel. If they do, I’m pretty pleased. Anyone else?

I actually don’t mind grading AI slop, assigning an F, and writing two pages of feedback about why the work is no good. I like it more than accusing the student of using AI, for sure. It doesn’t take that long. Maybe it teaches the student a lesson, maybe not, but I don’t find it as soul-sucking as others do. Anybody else?