Artificial intelligence is a tool.
However, it can also be a crutch. One student is not happy that she is paying for education from an instructor who relies too much on AI, especially when the instructor prohibits students from using it.
A senior student at Northeastern University, Ella Stapleton, demanded a tuition refund of over $8,000 after she determined that her business professor, Rick Arrowood, had covertly used AI tools (e.g., OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, and the presentation generator Gamma) to generate lecture notes and course materials.
This was particularly contentious because the course syllabus explicitly prohibited students from using AI tools for their assignments, a rule the professor himself was not following.
In February, Ella Stapleton, then a senior at Northeastern University, was reviewing lecture notes from her organizational behavior class when she noticed something odd. Was that a query to ChatGPT from her professor?Halfway through the document, which her business professor had made for a lesson on models of leadership, was an instruction to ChatGPT to “expand on all areas. Be more detailed and specific.” It was followed by a list of positive and negative leadership traits, each with a prosaic definition and a bullet-pointed example….Ms. Stapleton decided to do some digging. She reviewed her professor’s slide presentations and discovered other telltale signs of A.I.: distorted text, photos of office workers with extraneous body parts and egregious misspellings.She was not happy. Given the school’s cost and reputation, she expected a top-tier education. This course was required for her business minor; its syllabus forbade “academically dishonest activities,” including the unauthorized use of artificial intelligence or chatbots.
It turns out he used a wide range of AI tools:
The professor in question, Rick Arrowood, later admitted to using a trio of AI tools — ChatGPT, the Perplexity AI search engine, and Gamma, an AI-based presentation maker—to prepare course materials. While not illegal, this use of AI triggered questions of transparency and academic integrity, particularly when the professor had discouraged students from using similar tools for their own assignments.““He’s telling us not to use it, and then he’s using it himself,” Stapleton pointed out, branding the hypocrisy as unacceptable in a university of Northeastern’s standing.
Interestingly, a new study from another prestigious institution (Duke) finds that people both anticipate and experience judgment from their colleagues when using AI at work.
The study involved more than 4,400 people who, through a series of four experiments, indicated ample “evidence of a social evaluation penalty for using AI.””Our findings reveal a dilemma for people considering adopting AI tools,” the researchers wrote. “Although AI can enhance productivity, its use carries social costs.”
However, a reduced prestige rating does not stop higher education professionals from using the new tool.
Stapleton’s situation highlights the growing use of AI in higher education. A survey conducted by consulting group Tyton Partners in 2023 found that 22% of higher-education teachers said they frequently utilized generative AI. The same survey conducted in 2024 found that the percentage had nearly doubled to close to 40% of instructors within the span of a year.
Meanwhile, Northeastern University has rejected her claim.
Stapleton lodged a formal complaint with Northeastern’s business school over the incident, focused on her professor’s undisclosed use of AI alongside broader concerns about his teaching approach—and demanded a tuition refund for that course. The claim amounted to just over $8,000.After a series of meetings, Northeastern ultimately decided to reject the senior’s claim.
I remember starting my scientific studies with a teacher instructing us on the use of a slide rule.
I also remember the joy of getting my first calculator to do chemistry homework.
There is a way to properly and honestly use tools. It’s just a matter of academia establishing a proper equilibrium on how to do research and and teach critical thinking skills.
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