Hey there! I (22F) am a second-year student currently for what many would consider a ‘fake degree’ (Religious studies and the like.. (I love my degree dw)). There is one class where the professor is extremely difficult.
This professor said at the beginning of the course that instead of an exam at the end, he will assign a 500-word essay every week based on the reading. The assignments have 5 days to be done and the reading is LONG (I also work almost full time and take 7 other classes). He also said multiple times that we cannot use AI for our assignments. Here’s the doozy, me (and my friends in the insta poll I just did on my private story) agreed that this means do not use AI to write any version of the essay, even bullet point form.
I made the mistake of using AI to summarise the 45-page essay he gave us so that I can read it better in order to write only about what’s relevant. I then made the far stupider mistake of writing one of the quotes ChatGPT presented to me as factually included in the article. I looked in the article for the words used in the quote, as it felt too good to be true and I found it. Turns out AI can somehow mess with PDFs, putting quotes between pages (if someone can explain that would be great).
He found this quote in my essay and then promptly did the following – kicked me off the course and failed me for the whole semester. I feel like it’s a complete misunderstanding of his rules. He explained it to be that I’ve been actively trying to gaslight to him.
AITA for using AI for summaries if he said don’t use AI? Do you guys think I deserve a second chance?
YTA.
You’re in college to learn *HOW* to do things. That includes *ANY* form of writing and reading. Using AI to write *ANYTHING* is *NOT* learning. It’s cramming a dozen other people’s writing that was fed into the AI to copy the writing styles. ***Use your own brain***, not a computer to do the thinking *FOR* you. That’s one of the reasons you have one.
Also, the AI inserting quotes is for several reasons. First it’s NOT a human brain so it can’t reason the way you seem to think it can. Second, like I said, the AI’s have been fed a LOT of writers articles, fanfic, speeches, books, ect. so it’s going to randomly insert things occasionally. And third, it’s also a deliberate faction because of people like you who decide to use it for reasons they shouldn’t and so that teachers and professors can catch cheaters who use it.
Chat GPT DOES warn you that it’s not always factually correct for a REASON.
I wouldn’t buy the “I was only using it for summary and accidentally slipped it into my paper” line either. You just plunked a quote from an AI-generated summary into your essay without even checking to make sure it was valid? Either you’re not equipped with enough common sense to function in college or you’re trying to get away with violating university policy with an extremely weak excuse. Also, doing the reading is part of your homework. Using an AI summary to cut corners is lazy. YTA all day long. I hope you learn an important lesson about doing your own work here.
YTA. If you don’t have time to do all the reading, at least learn how to skim.
YTA, your professor was very clear about the use of AI in their class. It is not a misunderstanding at all. You are not the first person to go to college and also work full-time, they didnt use AI, they did the reading and did their assignments without issue
This is an easy YTA. If you don’t want to do real work reading and writing, you are in the wrong major.
YTA. Your professor is right.
Don’t use AI = Don’t use AI. YTA
EDIT: Meaning, if he meant you can use AI for certain things but not other things, then he would have told you what you were allowed to use it for.
YTA. You are so the A it’s insane. What’s the point of college classes if you cheat your way through them? That’s what AI is — cheating.
YTA. If you cannot do the coursework, you should’ve dropped the class. 45 pages a week is rather little.
I had a cousin Catholic Priest, he told me that while studying in seminar, 400-600 pages a week was not uncommon.
That process that you sought to “streamline” the “getting to the point”, is what makes you learn.
Hope you learnt your lesson, either in knowing your incompetence or in reaching for skill. (And I also hope it was an example for the rest of the course).
“I looked in the article for the words used in the quote, as it felt too good to be true and I found it. Turns out AI can somehow mess with PDFs, putting quotes between pages (if someone can explain that would be great).”
AI put a quote in the original PDF? What does this even mean?
YTA. You cheated and you got caught. Face the consequences.
YTA. If you were overwhelmed with the workload you should have spoken with the professor before you decided to violate your academic integrity. If a single reading and a 2 page paper every week is too much, you need to work it out with him beforehand.
What your friends think literally does not matter. What your professor wrote in the syllabus and explained to you multiple times in person does. Your university should also have a policy that you can access.
To be honest you’re lucky to get off with just an F. He could bring you up on academic dishonesty and have your whole semester discounted, a permanent mark on your academic record, or even get you expelled.
You may try to appeal to the dean, but be prepared to lose.
YTA. You cheated and got caught. If you are assigned reading, it means you do the reading. Not you have a computer read for you and provide you with a poor summary. You then represented it as your own work in a paper you turned in. As a teacher, I can’t stand the way my students continue to misuse AI as a shortcut to doing the work.
YTA and also extremely lucky you weren’t straight-up expelled for academic dishonesty.