Straws in the Wind - Part 336

From the Chronicle of Higher Education: ...A 20-year-old freshman at the University of Notre Dame emailed the undergraduate population with an enticing pitch. “I built an AI agent that connects to your Canvas and sees everything,” Caden Chuang wrote in the email... “It figures out exactly where you’re falling short and gives you the precise roadmap to get an A with the least amount of work possible.” Within an hour, the university deleted the email from inboxes, Chuang said, and temporarily disabled his account. But more than 1,000 students had signed up.

Then Chuang posted a video on Instagram on Thursday saying he “might have just been expelled.” He said the university disabled his accounts and is investigating him for “creating an AI cheating tool” — a characterization he disputes. The episode marks at least the third time over the past year that an AI tool built by current or recent students has forced colleges into a scramble. Examples include the viral rollout of an “Einstein” agent that could autonomously complete coursework and a Columbia University student’s public clash with administrators over their discrete AI software to help students pass technical interviews. Universities are confronting the fast-moving reality that students are building systems they’re not prepared for.

But unlike Einstein and the interview app, Chuang says his tool, Kerra, is not a cheat code — it’s a productivity tool. The software reads assignments, grades, and uploaded materials from the learning-management system Canvas, then generates study guides, detailed notes, and even assignment drafts. It also tracks deadlines and sends reminder texts designed to keep students on track. Signing up for Kerra is free, but certain tasks and features — such as exporting a study guide or using the tool’s more aggressive iMessage accountability reminders — prompt users to pay a fee ranging from $9 to $20 a month.

Chuang’s broader argument for Kerra is blunt, and, to some instructors, provocative. Spending a lot of time in class is “not as valuable as it used to be in the past,” he told The Chronicle. Instead, the time students spend outside class doing extracurricular activities and networking with potential employers is more important to their future. Kerra lets students “spend more time taking advantage of all the opportunities at their university,” Chuang said...

Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/another-undergrad-is-trying-to-disrupt-college-with-ai-he-says-his-version-isnt-cheating.