A university professor says there is ‘no point’ in grading work due to the rise of AI usage from students, and he is refusing to hand out marks.
With Artificial Intelligence becoming a bigger part of everyday life, plenty of people have found different uses for it. One of the biggest, however, has come through schools. Teachers have regularly reported that students have been submitting work that very obviously uses AI and tools like ChatGPT.
Over in California, professor Richard Borcherds, who works for the University of California, Berkeley, has said that he is refusing to grade work during the rise of AI-submitted papers.
“Grading for correctness just adds a huge incentive for them to use AI for homework instead of doing it themselves, and penalizes students for honesty,” Borcherds told the California Post.
Professor says “no point” in grading work properly due to AI
The mathematician said the use of AI for work has become “widespread” amongst students. “There is no easy way to tell the difference between human and AI-generated work,” he added.
Borcherds, a winner of the Fields Medal, told the school’s newspaper – the Daily Californian – that there is “no point” in paying graders to look over the work too.
Instead, he is grading homework based on whether it is handed in on time or not, never mind students getting the correct answers.
“I have no idea what to advise. I even asked ChatGPT this exact question, and even ChatGPT said it didn’t have any idea what was going to happen,” he added.
Professor Richard Borcherds has even consulted AI for help about AI.
As noted, AI tools have become popular amongst students, with some services now renting out smart glasses for use on tests.
Some places have started cracking down on AI usage too, including Norway. Elementary-aged students are effectively banned from AI, while others are able to use it with teacher supervision.
New York has also rolled out a crackdown on schools using AI. Part of that came after parents and teachers fought back against AI humanoids being used to help teach students.

