Stephen Downes

This article follows a well-established pattern for this sort of writing: a new capability is described, we get some examples of it at work, then we read some cautionary remarks about misusing the capability. In this case, the capability is very low cost automated assessment, courtesy System One + Jev. It uses a grading rubric and natural language student text as input, and saves money by avoiding costly next-token text generation in its output. The caution: "When you write to please a machine, you enter into a feedback loop that may not benefit your learning. While some writing tasks are straightforward and don't necessarily require much process work, the type of long-form and engaged writing many college courses call upon asks students to develop their responses via close reading of primary and secondary sources, multiple drafts, peer review, instructor feedback, and above all, time."