“The irony of being forced to dumb down an essay about a story warning against the forced suppression of excellence was not lost on me.
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“The irony of being forced to dumb down an essay about a story warning against the forced suppression of excellence was not lost on me. Or on my kid, who spent a frustrating afternoon removing words and testing sentences one at a time, trying to figure out what invisible tripwire the algorithm had set. The lesson the kid absorbed was clear: write less creatively, use simpler vocabulary, and don’t sound too good, because sounding good is now suspicious.
At the time, I worried this was going to become a much bigger problem. That the fear of AI “cheating” would create a culture that actively punished good writing and pushed students toward mediocrity. I was hoping I’d be wrong about that.
Turns out… I was not wrong.”
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/06/were-training-students-to-write-worse-to-prove-theyre-not-robots-and-its-pushing-them-to-use-more-ai/They want an idiocracy where words and facts mean what the oligarchs say they mean. It dovetails nicely with Christian Nationalism.
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“The irony of being forced to dumb down an essay about a story warning against the forced suppression of excellence was not lost on me. Or on my kid, who spent a frustrating afternoon removing words and testing sentences one at a time, trying to figure out what invisible tripwire the algorithm had set. The lesson the kid absorbed was clear: write less creatively, use simpler vocabulary, and don’t sound too good, because sounding good is now suspicious.
At the time, I worried this was going to become a much bigger problem. That the fear of AI “cheating” would create a culture that actively punished good writing and pushed students toward mediocrity. I was hoping I’d be wrong about that.
Turns out… I was not wrong.”
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/06/were-training-students-to-write-worse-to-prove-theyre-not-robots-and-its-pushing-them-to-use-more-ai/@markmetz @AnnaAnthro Interesting. My recent experience stepping into the audiobook narration world has been the opposite. The AI slop that immediately jumps out is simplistic, formulaic, and bland. The good writing stands out - real sentences and paragraphs, occasional grammar mistakes (or creative license), substance, etc.
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“The irony of being forced to dumb down an essay about a story warning against the forced suppression of excellence was not lost on me. Or on my kid, who spent a frustrating afternoon removing words and testing sentences one at a time, trying to figure out what invisible tripwire the algorithm had set. The lesson the kid absorbed was clear: write less creatively, use simpler vocabulary, and don’t sound too good, because sounding good is now suspicious.
At the time, I worried this was going to become a much bigger problem. That the fear of AI “cheating” would create a culture that actively punished good writing and pushed students toward mediocrity. I was hoping I’d be wrong about that.
Turns out… I was not wrong.”
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/06/were-training-students-to-write-worse-to-prove-theyre-not-robots-and-its-pushing-them-to-use-more-ai/@markmetz Sounds suspiciously like "Newspeak." 1984 is alive and well in 2026.
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“The irony of being forced to dumb down an essay about a story warning against the forced suppression of excellence was not lost on me. Or on my kid, who spent a frustrating afternoon removing words and testing sentences one at a time, trying to figure out what invisible tripwire the algorithm had set. The lesson the kid absorbed was clear: write less creatively, use simpler vocabulary, and don’t sound too good, because sounding good is now suspicious.
At the time, I worried this was going to become a much bigger problem. That the fear of AI “cheating” would create a culture that actively punished good writing and pushed students toward mediocrity. I was hoping I’d be wrong about that.
Turns out… I was not wrong.”
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/06/were-training-students-to-write-worse-to-prove-theyre-not-robots-and-its-pushing-them-to-use-more-ai/@markmetz Year another reason to hate the hell out of “AI”. Even the “good” part of this story encourages kids to use “AI”. I wonder how much money Techdirt got paid to write this?
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@markmetz Year another reason to hate the hell out of “AI”. Even the “good” part of this story encourages kids to use “AI”. I wonder how much money Techdirt got paid to write this?
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@markmetz @bluewinds Pen and paper, typewriters, really anything else would have been better than just having the only answer be “AI”.
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“The irony of being forced to dumb down an essay about a story warning against the forced suppression of excellence was not lost on me. Or on my kid, who spent a frustrating afternoon removing words and testing sentences one at a time, trying to figure out what invisible tripwire the algorithm had set. The lesson the kid absorbed was clear: write less creatively, use simpler vocabulary, and don’t sound too good, because sounding good is now suspicious.
At the time, I worried this was going to become a much bigger problem. That the fear of AI “cheating” would create a culture that actively punished good writing and pushed students toward mediocrity. I was hoping I’d be wrong about that.
Turns out… I was not wrong.”
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/06/were-training-students-to-write-worse-to-prove-theyre-not-robots-and-its-pushing-them-to-use-more-ai/@markmetz @clew This whole problem with students using AI can be resolved by having them turn on version tracking as they work. I'm assuming they're using something like Microsoft Word which has the ability to periodically save documents. I think it would take more time to fake the creation of an original document than to actually create one.
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“The irony of being forced to dumb down an essay about a story warning against the forced suppression of excellence was not lost on me. Or on my kid, who spent a frustrating afternoon removing words and testing sentences one at a time, trying to figure out what invisible tripwire the algorithm had set. The lesson the kid absorbed was clear: write less creatively, use simpler vocabulary, and don’t sound too good, because sounding good is now suspicious.
At the time, I worried this was going to become a much bigger problem. That the fear of AI “cheating” would create a culture that actively punished good writing and pushed students toward mediocrity. I was hoping I’d be wrong about that.
Turns out… I was not wrong.”
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/06/were-training-students-to-write-worse-to-prove-theyre-not-robots-and-its-pushing-them-to-use-more-ai/@markmetz ”No we won’t change, the students will have to change”.
This is the same as with regard to (not) regulating social media. Or age verification.
There shall be no change to the platforms, there shall be no change to the school curriculums or ways of testing. All mitigation will be borne by those with the least power, whatever the damage.
It’s absolute #conservatism: The out-group will have to change, while the in-group is celebrated for doing nothing!
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@markmetz @clew This whole problem with students using AI can be resolved by having them turn on version tracking as they work. I'm assuming they're using something like Microsoft Word which has the ability to periodically save documents. I think it would take more time to fake the creation of an original document than to actually create one.
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@wavefunction @markmetz @clew There has to be a solution other than to use more AI.
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Markdown and SVN would make the development of human thought visible to an teacher and not require other surveillance.
(IME markdown and SVN are a lot more comprehensible than LaTeX and git. Provide an easier off-ramp, it will be enough for most work, use the fancy stuff only if needed.)
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@markmetz @clew This whole problem with students using AI can be resolved by having them turn on version tracking as they work. I'm assuming they're using something like Microsoft Word which has the ability to periodically save documents. I think it would take more time to fake the creation of an original document than to actually create one.
In k-12, chromebooks and Google Docs are common. Docs has version tracking, and teachers use it to check if students are pasting in large chunks of text.
Some better-informed students are already adapting by typing in the text that the AI gives them, instead of pasting.
Other students refuse to use any AI at all. AI doesn't have a good reputation with many students.
AI detectors are too inaccurate. Teachers should work with students and have an idea of their voice.
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In k-12, chromebooks and Google Docs are common. Docs has version tracking, and teachers use it to check if students are pasting in large chunks of text.
Some better-informed students are already adapting by typing in the text that the AI gives them, instead of pasting.
Other students refuse to use any AI at all. AI doesn't have a good reputation with many students.
AI detectors are too inaccurate. Teachers should work with students and have an idea of their voice.
@chris_spackman @markmetz @clew This all makes sense, especially teachers working with students.
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