(The Walrus) – Recently, a new kind of Magic Bag has found its way into the real world. For some years, I have taught philosophy, mostly ethics, at a university in California. I teach a mix of in-person and online classes, and my main method of evaluation has been the student essay. But as nearly everyone now knows, AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini make it possible to obtain college essays with little more effort than it takes to snap your fingers.

Ask one of these chatbots for a paper on Plato’s Republic, or on the ethics of buying and selling kidneys—or just input an exam prompt—and, within seconds, out pops a paper that will look to a lot of people like something a human wrote. (Read More)