This summer, I’m teaching an online biology class for non-majors. Being the final week of the course, I assigned them to write a 3-4 page paper (excluding the references list) on any topic in biology that interested them. My goal for this assignment was to have them learn a bit more about a biology topic that they thought was fun – whether it was ecosystems, CRISPR, microbes, you name it, they could write about it!

Most of the papers were on the three page end, and they followed the format I had given them. One paper, however, blew the page limit to seven, and had such a strange formatting that I became suspicious. The phrasing was also too scientific and grandiose for someone who is not majoring in science. Imagine I’m a detective. The format made me incline my head, the phrasing made me squint my eyes to investigate further. 

As you can probably guess, the assignment was not written by the student. I ran it through three different AI detectors to confirm my suspicions (because I don’t want to accuse anyone unless I have 100% proof of something), and they all came back 90-100% AI written. 

I gave her a 0/100 and commented that the formatting was incorrect, the page length was incorrect, and I had evidence that it was mostly written by AI. The further confirmation that I received that I was correct in my investigations…the student never once reached out to debate the grade. 

As I was talking with my husband about it, I couldn’t wrap my head around why a non-major would just let a program write their paper. I’d given them such an easy and open ended assignment. And I don’t teach English, so as long as you have sentences and the format I specified, I give you full points. My class knows this by the end of the course. I’m a very easy grader, as long as you do the work. But if you don’t do the work, I’m not very nice with grading. 

He suggested things I could do instead of assigning a paper (or requiring scans of a handwritten paper so that they actually had to put some work in, even if a computer wrote it), but then he told me that at the end of the day, it’s their education that they’re choosing to forfeit and their money that they’re choosing to waste. And he’s right. 

While I haven’t encountered a ton of papers like this, I know more will come in the future and as the programs get better, it will be harder to catch. It is very sad that people aren’t willing to write a 3 page paper on whatever topic they so choose, and instead of treating their education like an amazing opportunity that they get, they decide to let someone else (or rather, something) do it for them. That’s the part that annoys me. There are so many people who would love to be given this opportunity, and who would love to learn, and then you have people who will go out of their way to not do the assignment and deepen their learning. But, this has been an issue, even from the Bible:

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

– Matthew 7:13-14, King James Version

People have always preferred to take the easy way out. It’s easier to keep living in your sin, and not admit that you’re wrong, in need of saving, and that one day you’ll pay the price for that decision. But, if you’re willing to get uncomfortable, learn from your mistakes, and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ’s salvation, you’ll have a much better outcome and everlasting life with God.

Fun Fact! With the AI blurb that now seems to pop up everytime you search something (which sometimes is inaccurate), I decided to see what it thought of Back to Stable Hill:

The “Back To Stable Hill” blog appears to cover a range of topics, including religious persecution, academic advice, and cultural events. The blog’s content seems to focus on personal reflections, religious themes, and practical advice for students.

Seems kind of redundant if you ask me…I think I’ll just keep writing things on my own! 

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