Using a LLM to write a term paper is useful in a similar way t using a forklift for weightlifting at the gym. Yes, it may be efficient in completing the task, but the value is in the hard work - ThreadSky

cplberry.bsky.social • 2 days ago

Using a LLM to write a term paper is useful in a similar way t using a forklift for weightlifting at the gym. Yes, it may be efficient in completing the task, but the value is in the hard work

Reposted from DANA STEVENS

About to be Jokerfied by this blandly tossed-off statement in a piece about how the lie machines will never stop lying. Why concede that AI is "useful" in writing term papers? What is the purpose of writing assignments in education? Is AI accomplishing that purpose? www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...

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abbiestev.bsky.social•1 day ago

📌

toctik.bsky.social•1 day ago

If I knew a paper was written, whole or in part, with AI? I'd disqualify it.
The test is on your personal intellect, your human endeavor.
If you can't be bothered to, no one should take your "work" seriously.

physgal.bsky.social•2 days ago

Ditto physics homework. Reminds me of @rhettallain.bsky.social's famous quote "Confusion is the sweat of learning." Without the struggle and confusion, there is very little learning going on. 🎢 🍎

fearthecowboy.bsky.social•1 day ago

Oh, I like that!

micamulloy.bsky.social•1 day ago

I actually just talked to a student about AI and physics homework. Agreed if it is just asking AI for the answer like going straight to the answer key in the back of the book. But this student celebrated using AI to help explain and visualize tough concepts to help him understand how to solve.

physgal.bsky.social•1 day ago

I worry that students spend too much time searching for solutions online via ChatGPT, Chegg etc when that time would be better spent trying out different tactics themselves or with their classmates. They think they are learning a lot when they look at others' solutions, but they aren't.

micamulloy.bsky.social•1 day ago

I'm sure many do. People > AI whenever possible. But I've heard many Ss talk about being really stuck. Late at night, no access to teacher, reviewed books and notes, texted friends, tried Youtube—no luck anywhere. Then they ask AI to explain it in another way and solution found.

physgal.bsky.social•1 day ago

One suggestion I have for a student in that situation is to go to sleep and try again in the morning. It's amazing how often that worked for me when I was struggling with advanced mechanics problems. Your brain keeps working on them while you sleep.

micamulloy.bsky.social•1 day ago

Not to mention the value of just sleeping enough, period! But if you have a big test the next morning, and understanding a concept isn't the final piece but just 1 step toward what you need to know for the test, that could be something you don't have time for.

doggirlinstem.bsky.social•1 day ago

Oh hey I do that too sometimes (I try not to do it often, but if there's a conceptual question or derivation I'm struggling with, it can be helpful. It almost feels like talking to a peer sometimes because it can be--and often is--wrong, but correcting it is also helpful in reinforcing my knowledge)

doggirlinstem.bsky.social•1 day ago

I've noticed that it doesn't really reduce the time it takes me to do hw, but I think it has brought my test scores (to clarify, my classes have paper exams and I would never use gen AI on a test anyways 😭) up by a significant amount and I'm not sure how to feel about that

cplberry.bsky.social•1 day ago

Learning with your peers is statistically one of the best ways to learn. If you are emulating some aspect of that, it makes sense if would be useful. A key thing is you realising that you can't trust the answers, so you need to dig in

physgal.bsky.social•1 day ago

ITA. As Carl Wieman wisely pointed out social interactions are an essential part of active learning.

micamulloy.bsky.social•1 day ago

Very true. Own the responsibility and always verify. The student today started by saying he feels like LLMs have significantly improved this school year with Physics accuracy and image creation to visualize something accurately.

micamulloy.bsky.social•1 day ago

This is a great use! My take is you shouldn't feel any shame using AI in this way. Does a student who has a physicist parent hesitate to ask for help when struggling? Or does a student with a tutor question the understanding they gained after a session? This can level the playing field.

shoshiroll.bsky.social•2 days ago

they arent even useful for generating computer code if you actually know how to program.

pakelihe.bsky.social•1 day ago

We have some nice AI technology at our company, but it basically provides pre-verified examples. We don't claim to write software. (Well, we do generate code, but we've had that non-AI tech for years.)

fearthecowboy.bsky.social•2 days ago

Kinda reminds me of a book I read as a kid - I wanna say "Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine".

He and his friends program a computer to do all their homework. The teacher finds out and in the end I think gave them good marks because they had to learn it AND do much more work to teach the computer.

brucecgordon.bsky.social•1 day ago

I disagree completely. Just as when I was studying finance at the time financial calculators came out and the lecturers moved from rote learning formulas to interpreting results so today’s lecturers need to up the requirements for papers.

katharinethegeek.bsky.social•1 day ago

Sorry, but no. The first papers little kids write are half page stories or descriptions of something; in late elementary school they move on to structured multi-paragraph writing, then in middle school thesis statements supported by arguments, and so on.

katharinethegeek.bsky.social•1 day ago

The level of these assignments is developmentally appropriate at each stage. You can't just "up the requirements" and ask an average third grader or middle schooler to write something unfakeable by LLM.

katharinethegeek.bsky.social•1 day ago

At the university level -- the level at which I teach -- students need to work through problems to understand the structure of a method so they can build on that understanding for future work. Maple or Mathematica can do any textbook calculus or diff eq problem,

katharinethegeek.bsky.social•1 day ago

but there's still value to working some simple problems out in detail as practice in learning problem solving skills and mathematical concepts on relatively simple problems.

katharinethegeek.bsky.social•1 day ago

Something I've noticed is that students have trouble visualizing graphs of functions in their heads; this is a vital skill for thinking about how to approach problems. Early GenX'ers like me still had to draw graphs by hand; nobody had graphing calculators. So I learned to connect

katharinethegeek.bsky.social•1 day ago

It's not so good at generating computer code either.

stochasticooze.bsky.social•1 day ago

Or paying someone to level up your character in Diablo IV

cplberry.bsky.social•2 hours ago

This is an excellent, and I fear depressingly accurate article

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/openai-chatgpt-ai-cheating-education-college-students-school.html

Education will need to adapt to the realities of LLM. I think this may be larger reflection of hard work not feeling properly rewarded in modern society

🎢

michaelrennick.bsky.social•1 hour ago

Effort for the sake of growth and understanding seems to be devalued when weighed against “getting it right”. We’ve seen it in our kid’s education.

cplberry.bsky.social•1 hour ago

I think even wider than that—expertise is less valued. Think of who holds influential positions vs what qualifications they have

michaelrennick.bsky.social•1 hour ago

So true. “Why do I need an expert when I have AI”? Nuance. Nuance is why.

harkerthanblack.bsky.social•1 day ago

In this analogy I like to imagine the barbell slides off the forklift tongs and crashes making a huge mess that takes way more effort to clean up than if you'd just lifted it normally.

cplberry.bsky.social•1 day ago

One rolls away to a corner the forklift can't reach, so you need to pick it up to put in on the forklift anyway. All while the engine is running, filling the air with fumes

nuggetthenonbiner.bsky.social•1 day ago

To us maybe, but to them the existence of forklifts means gyms are Just Evil...

rassbariaw.bsky.social•1 day ago

🧨

wendyrmonkey.bsky.social•1 day ago

The way we are entirely losing the plot that learning is the actual point of school, not assignment completion…

(This is a bigger problem than just AI but damn AI isn’t helping )

chickpea7.bsky.social•1 day ago

Thinking and writing are two of the main things colleges teach--if you aren't going to learn to do them for yourself why bother going?

kylerudy.bsky.social•1 day ago

Using a LLM to write a term paper treats the person grading it as an obstacle rather than as an educator providing a service. Anyone old enough to write a term paper ought to be excoriated for making that sort of mistake, and banished from public life if they make it twice.

jmstockhausen.bsky.social•1 day ago

Bearing in mind, though, that a lot of people don't see college as a learning activity, but as a hurdle; you put in $, do the busywork, & get a ticket for higher earnings. In that context an LLM nakes perfect sense (& could appear clever, a way to create acceptable work product with minimum effort)

cplberry.bsky.social•1 day ago

That's understandable in the current climate, but I will push back against it whenever I encounter it

We only have so many years of life. It seems a shame to squander them on getting a piece of paper when you can be learning about a Universe of infinite wonder

jmstockhausen.bsky.social•1 day ago

Speaking as a former professor of history, i agree. A lot of people look at it that way, is what i'm saying.

cplberry.bsky.social•1 day ago

Absolutely! And it's not their fault—you can see this narrative across society. A degree's use is measured by employability, subjects are compared in terms of earning power, lots of recruiters specify degrees that aren't needed for the job, etc.

ricosuavejd.bsky.social•1 day ago

it's really just letting someone else do something

renders 'you' pointless in the process

smart-casual.bsky.social•1 day ago

It's already been shown that the availability of knowledge via internet has changed our cognitive abilities (eg https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6502424/)

Heaven forfend what LLMs will do to people's ability to evaluate evidence and think critically.

Conspiracy brain suggests that that's the point...

theknownsea.com•1 day ago

This is why the right loves AI so much: laziness and greed. They want the answer without having to do the work, which is synonymous with being unwilling to think for themselves.

They should do some fucking art, do some humanities, learn to value effort as much as they value reward.

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