Tools & Platforms

The rise of AI tools forces schools to reconsider what counts as cheating

Published

2 days ago

September 14, 2025

By JOCELYN GECKER
Associated Press

The book report is now a thing of the past. Take-home tests and essays are becoming obsolete.

Student use of artificial intelligence has become so prevalent, high school and college educators say, that to assign writing outside of the classroom is like asking students to cheat.

“The cheating is off the charts. It’s the worst I’ve seen in my entire career,” says Casey Cuny, who has taught English for 23 years. Educators are no longer wondering if students will outsource schoolwork to AI chatbots. “Anything you send home, you have to assume is being AI’ed.”

The question now is how schools can adapt, because many of the teaching and assessment tools that have been used for generations are no longer effective. As AI technology rapidly improves and becomes more entwined with daily life, it is transforming how students learn and study and how teachers teach, and it’s creating new confusion over what constitutes academic dishonesty.

“We have to ask ourselves, what is cheating?” says Cuny, a 2024 recipient of California’s Teacher of the Year award. “Because I think the lines are getting blurred.”

Cuny’s students at Valencia High School in southern California now do most writing in class. He monitors student laptop screens from his desktop, using software that lets him “lock down” their screens or block access to certain sites. He’s also integrating AI into his lessons and teaching students how to use AI as a study aid “to get kids learning with AI instead of cheating with AI.”

In rural Oregon, high school teacher Kelly Gibson has made a similar shift to in-class writing. She is also incorporating more verbal assessments to have students talk through their understanding of assigned reading.

“I used to give a writing prompt and say, ‘In two weeks, I want a five-paragraph essay,’” says Gibson. “These days, I can’t do that. That’s almost begging teenagers to cheat.”

Take, for example, a once typical high school English assignment: Write an essay that explains the relevance of social class in “The Great Gatsby.” Many students say their first instinct is now to ask ChatGPT for help “brainstorming.” Within seconds, ChatGPT yields a list of essay ideas, plus examples and quotes to back them up. The chatbot ends by asking if it can do more: “Would you like help writing any part of the essay? I can help you draft an introduction or outline a paragraph!”

Students are uncertain when AI usage is out of bounds

Students say they often turn to AI with good intentions for things like research, editing or help reading difficult texts. But AI offers unprecedented temptation, and it’s sometimes hard to know where to draw the line.

College sophomore Lily Brown, a psychology major at an East Coast liberal arts school, relies on ChatGPT to help outline essays because she struggles putting the pieces together herself. ChatGPT also helped her through a freshman philosophy class, where assigned reading “felt like a different language” until she read AI summaries of the texts.

“Sometimes I feel bad using ChatGPT to summarize reading, because I wonder, is this cheating? Is helping me form outlines cheating? If I write an essay in my own words and ask how to improve it, or when it starts to edit my essay, is that cheating?”

Her class syllabi say things like: “Don’t use AI to write essays and to form thoughts,” she says, but that leaves a lot of grey area. Students say they often shy away from asking teachers for clarity because admitting to any AI use could flag them as a cheater.

Schools tend to leave AI policies to teachers, which often means that rules vary widely within the same school. Some educators, for example, welcome the use of Grammarly.com, an AI-powered writing assistant, to check grammar. Others forbid it, noting the tool also offers to rewrite sentences.

“Whether you can use AI or not depends on each classroom. That can get confusing,” says Valencia 11th grader Jolie Lahey. She credits Cuny with teaching her sophomore English class a variety of AI skills like how to upload study guides to ChatGPT and have the chatbot quiz them, and then explain problems they got wrong.

But this year, her teachers have strict “No AI” policies. “It’s such a helpful tool. And if we’re not allowed to use it that just doesn’t make sense,” Lahey says. “It feels outdated.”

Schools are introducing guidelines, gradually

Many schools initially banned use of AI after ChatGPT launched in late 2022. But views on the role of artificial intelligence in education have shifted dramatically. The term “AI literacy” has become a buzzword of the back-to-school season, with a focus on how to balance the strengths of AI with its risks and challenges.

Over the summer, several colleges and universities convened their AI task forces to draft more detailed guidelines or provide faculty with new instructions.

The University of California, Berkeley emailed all faculty new AI guidance that instructs them to “include a clear statement on their syllabus about course expectations” around AI use. The guidance offered language for three sample syllabus statements — for courses that require AI, ban AI in and out of class, or allow some AI use.

“In the absence of such a statement, students may be more likely to use these technologies inappropriately,” the email said, stressing that AI is “creating new confusion about what might constitute legitimate methods for completing student work.”

Carnegie Mellon University has seen a huge uptick in academic responsibility violations due to AI, but often students aren’t aware they’ve done anything wrong, says Rebekah Fitzsimmons, chair of the AI faculty advising committee at the university’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy.

For example, one student who is learning English wrote an assignment in his native language and used DeepL, an AI-powered translation tool, to translate his work to English. But he didn’t realize the platform also altered his language, which was flagged by an AI detector.

Enforcing academic integrity policies has become more complicated, since use of AI is hard to spot and even harder to prove, Fitzsimmons said. Faculty are allowed flexibility when they believe a student has unintentionally crossed a line, but are now more hesitant to point out violations because they don’t want to accuse students unfairly. Students worry that if they are falsely accused, there is no way to prove their innocence.

Over the summer, Fitzsimmons helped draft detailed new guidelines for students and faculty that strive to create more clarity. Faculty have been told a blanket ban on AI “is not a viable policy” unless instructors make changes to the way they teach and assess students. A lot of faculty are doing away with take-home exams. Some have returned to pen and paper tests in class, she said, and others have moved to “flipped classrooms,” where homework is done in class.

Emily DeJeu, who teaches communication courses at Carnegie Mellon’s business school, has eliminated writing assignments as homework and replaced them with in-class quizzes done on laptops in “a lockdown browser” that blocks students from leaving the quiz screen.

“To expect an 18-year-old to exercise great discipline is unreasonable,” DeJeu said. “That’s why it’s up to instructors to put up guardrails.”

___

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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Tools & Platforms

AI Academy Launches Region’s First Executive Program for Chief AI Officer

Published

16 minutes ago

September 16, 2025

EIN Presswire

AI Academy, a regional hub for executive education and leadership in AI, has opened early applications for its Executive Program for Chief AI Officer (CAIO)

The AI Academy, a regional hub for executive education and leadership in artificial intelligence, has opened early applications for its Executive Program for Chief AI Officer (CAIO). The AI Academy was first unveiled at the prestigious Machines Can See 2025 summit in the presence of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence in the UAE. The new first-of-its-kind Executive program in the region will equip senior executives and decision-makers with the vision and expertise to drive the next wave of AI transformation. The latest research shows 69% of organizations in the Middle East plan to increase investment in AI, highlighting the urgent need for skilled leadership.

The executive program is launched under the strategic collaboration between the Abu Dhabi School of Management (ADSM) and Polynome AI Academy, reinforcing a regional commitment to shaping future-ready leadership as a global hub for AI adoption and regulation.

Also Read: AiThority Interview with Tim Morrs, CEO at SpeakUp

The AI Academy will integrate NVIDIA’s expertise and technologies into select programs—reinforcing its mission to accelerate AI readiness and real-world deployment across the region.
The intensive two-week program is scheduled to begin on 16 November 2025 and includes 10 advanced modules covering AI systems architecture, enterprise deployment, governance frameworks, ethics, and public policy. With a strong emphasis on real-world application, the program prepares executives to lead cross-functional AI strategies and unlock innovation agendas across the MENA region. Participants will also have an opportunity to join an optional five-day international module in Europe or the United States as an extension of the main program, expanding their exposure to leading global innovation ecosystems.

Polynome Group ensures participants gain exclusive access to enterprise-grade AI infrastructure, global best practices, and hands-on deployment insights. This uniquely positions The AI Academy’s Executive Program at the intersection of education and execution. With Chief AI Officers already appointed across government entities and corporates in the region, the program is a catalyst for national AI strategies and government visions which seek to position the Middle East at the forefront of global AI and digital transformation.

“In today’s fast-changing landscape, visionary and strategic leadership is critical to unlocking the full potential of AI in a responsible way that meets the needs of businesses and society alike,” said Dr. Tayeb Kamali, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at ADSM. “This program equips leaders with the strategic foresight, ethical foundation, and practical skills required to leverage the exciting opportunities AI creates, while strengthening the Middle East’s role as a global hub for technological excellence.”

“What makes this program unique is that it was designed by leaders who have implemented AI at scale,” added Alexander Khanin, Founder of Polynome Group. “Participants will leave with execution-ready strategies, direct access to enterprise tools, and membership in a powerful peer network of global AI leaders.”

From Global Expertise and Industry Depth To Local Context
The program’s instructors unite world-class expertise from academia, government, and industry. Professors and researchers from leading institutions such as Oxford University, ETH Zurich, Khalifa University and Carnegie Mellon University contribute deep academic insight. Alongside them, Chief AI Officers, Heads of Technology, Vice Presidents and Executive Directors from top AI organizations, including NVIDIA, the UAE Cybersecurity Council, X, G42, NASA JPL, Mubadala, AMD, e&, HCLTech and others, bring practical leadership and industry perspective. Together, this distinguished panel highlights the program’s global influence on AI strategy and governance.

Exclusive Access to Global Network
Graduates will join an exclusive global alumni circle of Chief AI Officers and senior leaders, gaining lifelong access to a peer network shaping the next decade of AI transformation across industries and geographies.

Also Read: Cognitive Product Design: Empowering Non-Technical Users Through Natural Language Interaction With AI-Native PLM

[To share your insights with us as part of editorial or sponsored content, please write to psen@itechseries.com]

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Tools & Platforms

Tencent Announces Global Rollout of Scenario-Based AI Capabilities to Accelerate Industrial Efficiency

Published

27 minutes ago

September 16, 2025

The Editors

Tencent Announces Global Rollout of Scenario-Based, AI Capabilities to Accelerate Industrial Efficiency

Launch of AI Agent Development Platform 3.0, available internationally via Tencent Cloud, at the 2025 Global Digital Ecosystem Summit

Tencent Cloud’s overseas client base doubled since last year; achieved high double-digit year-over-year growth over the past three years

Dowson Tong, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent and CEO of the Cloud and Smart Industries Group, delivering a keynote speech at the 2025 Global Digital Ecosystem Summit

Tencent today announced the global roll-out of new scenario-based AI capabilities, empowering enterprises across diverse industries to accelerate industry efficiency and advance international growth. Announced at the 2025 Tencent Global Digital Ecosystem Summit, held at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center from 16 to 17 September, it comprises a suite of intelligent agent applications, “SaaS + AI” solutions and large model technological upgrades.

“Truly usable and practical AI applications drive industrial efficiency, while internationalization charts new growth possibilities,” said Dowson Tong, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent and CEO of the Cloud and Smart Industries Group. “Our newly launched and upgraded solutions will support enterprises in their intelligence and internationalization journey as they build scalable and sustainable growth.”

Accelerating Implementation of Intelligent Solutions

The Tencent Cloud Intelligent Agent Strategy Panorama highlighted the global launch of Agent Development Platform 3.0 (ADP), which enables enterprises to generate and integrate intelligent, autonomous AI agents into their workflows, for scenarios such as customer service, marketing, inventory management, research, and more. Tencent is continuously iterating on various intelligent agent development frameworks like LLM+RAG, Workflow, and Multi-Agent, to help enterprises efficiently build stable, secure, and business-aligned agents using proprietary data. In addition, AI Infra’s “Agent Runtime” was also launched to provide a robust infrastructure foundation for building, deploying, and operating AI agents.

The upgraded SaaS+AI toolkit enhances office collaboration, including AI Minutes in Tencent Meetings, which has seen a year-on-year growth rate of 150% over the past year. It also supports knowledge management, such as Tencent LearnShare, currently used by over 300,000 enterprises enjoying 92% response accuracy. CodeBuddy, an AI-powered AI coding tool for developers, reduces coding time by 40% and increases R&D efficiency by 16%.

New models powered by Hunyuan, Tencent’s proprietary large language model, were announced, including Hunyuan 3D 3.0, Hunyuan 3D AI and Hunyuan 3D Studio, imbued with cutting-edge 3D generation capabilities for creators and developers in media and gaming industries, and more. Hunyuan 3D series models have been downloaded over 2.6 million times on Hugging Face, making them the most popular open-source 3D models globally.

Over the past year, Tencent’s Hunyuan large model has released more than 30 new models and fully embraced open-source development. It has gradually open-sourced models such as the hybrid inference model Hunyuan-A13B and a translation model supporting over 30 languages, along with comprehensive multimodal generation capabilities and tools for image, video and 3D content.

Fully Embrace Internationalization

At the summit, Tencent Cloud highlighted its milestones in global expansion, noting that its overseas client base has doubled since last year. Over the last three years, Tencent Cloud International has achieved high double-digit year-over-year growth globally, across Asia markets, namely Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Japan, and more.

Today, more than 90% of leading Chinese internet companies, and 95% of leading Chinese gaming companies are also using Tencent Cloud to support their global expansion initiatives.

During the Tencent Cloud International Summit held in the afternoon, Tencent’s global partners including Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions, DANA, e& UAE, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Fusion Bank, GoTo Group, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), Miniclip, MUFG Bank (China), Prosus, True IDC, and more, discussed the need for enterprises to adopt advanced cloud and AI solutions to power their next stage of growth and internationalization ambitions.

Poshu Yeung, Senior Vice President, Tencent Cloud International said, “Tencent Cloud brings to overseas enterprises our deep expertise and experience in integrating AI across our ecosystem. With the launch of new solutions such as Tencent Cloud Agent Development Platform, we hope to expand our reach globally, and serve wider industries and enterprise use-cases.”

The summit also saw Tencent Cloud International signing partnership agreements with global enterprises, from Asia Pacific companies including Datacom, IOH, Gardi Management, GoTo Group, MahakaX, MUFG Bank (China), RYDE Technologies, StoneLink, True IDC, 99 Group; to Middle Eastern companies including Coop Bank Oromia and Nativex; European companies including eMAG; and North American company InCloud.

Tencent will upgrade its Tencent Cloud internationalization strategy across three areas — infrastructure, technology products, and service capabilities — to help more enterprises across different industries to transform digitally. Today Tencent Cloud products like the Superapp-as-a-Service solution and PalmAI have been widely embraced by overseas enterprises from Asia Pacific, the Middle East and The Americas.

Tencent Cloud has introduced international versions of products such as Tencent Cloud Agent Development Platform (TCADP), CodeBuddy and Cloud Mall. These globalized solutions are designed to better accommodate local requirements and provide reliable support for high-concurrency enterprises worldwide. For instance, its EdgeOne security and acceleration platform recently integrated large language models with the Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, resulting in the launch of EdgeOne Pages. This development significantly enhanced developer efficiency by reducing website development and deployment time from one day to merely one minute. Within three months, the platform garnered over 100,000 global users.

Tencent Cloud operates 55 data centres across 21 markets and regions, and plans to invest USD150 million in the future to build its first Middle East data center in Saudi Arabia. Simultaneously, it will build a third data center in Osaka, Japan, and establish a new Osaka office. Today, Tencent Cloud has deployed 9 global technical support centers in Jakarta, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul, Palo Alto, and Frankfurt.

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Tools & Platforms

Pack lands €3.5M to scale AI for workforce development

Published

52 minutes ago

September 16, 2025

Tamara Djurickovic

Italian startup Pack
has closed a €3.5 million funding round to strengthen its product, add new
AI-driven features, and expand its team.

The round was led by Rialto VC, the Italian venture capital fund which combines
strategic expertise in corporate governance, digital innovation, and scaling
technology companies. The round
was also supported by the team led by Giulia Bianchi Frangipane of Bonelli
Erede, with senior associate Enrico Goitre assisting Pack in the legal
structuring of the transaction.

Pack
is an HR tech startup that helps companies develop and enhance human capital
through its all-in-one platform. Founded in 2022 by Pietro Maria Picogna and
Giacomo Gentili, it already partners with more than 80 multinationals.

Pack
was created to address the growing complexity of people development by mapping
skills, fostering agile and aware teams, and preparing organisations for future
challenges. Its platform integrates skill mapping, digital assessments, and
personalized growth paths, including coaching, mentoring, and targeted training,
supported by an AI-driven monitoring system that continuously measures progress
and business impact.

Its
mission is to empower organizations to grow by building more agile, aware, and
future-ready teams.

Giacomo Gentili, Pack’s co-founder, noted that
companies everywhere are confronting, or soon will confront, the complex
challenge of managing human capital, and what they need is not just a supplier
but a genuine partner to support them through this transformation.

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