Stephen Downes

I'm going to make an unusual admission here: I never cheated in school or university. Sure, it meant taking the occasional C but I can't imagine making a decision to use ChatGPT any more than I would have collaborated with friends or relied on inside information. So what do I make of Justin Weinberger's lament that "When the takeaway is finally, a gifted and morally sensitive student at a top university realizes that cheating is bad for her, what hope should we have for everyone else?" Maybe we should look at what we're teaching. "Part of Yale culture, he said, is to 'take advantage of every possible thing.'" Yeah. Sure, "Demanding extracurricular activities crowd out learning." I spent my university years in the student newspaper office. I wrote my essays at the last minute, usually as first draft the day (or night) before it was due. I learned a ton at university, but what I didn't learn was to "take advantage". Thus (to my mind) the only significant different between me and a Yale graduate.