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Bohrz, a mathematics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, announced that he would no longer grade homework because large numbers of students use ChatGPT to write nearly correct answers, and warned that AI could soon replace mathematics education and academic assessment.
The California Post reported on the 25th that it was hailed as a “math community”Nobel Fields Medal Winner,UC Berkeley Richard Borchardts, a mathematics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, found that a large number of students used artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT to write homework with almost correct answers. He felt that employing teaching assistants to mark homework done by AI ghostwriters had “lost the meaning” and was a waste of time and money, so he announced that he would no longer mark students’ homework.
In an interview, Bohrz said that the grading standard is now based on whether students complete the homework, not whether the answers are correct. He said that in the face of the rapid development of AI, he no longer knows of any better solution.
Borcherz said it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between AI ghostwriting and students’ own work. “There is no easy way to distinguish between human-generated and AI-generated actions,” he said. He said that sometimes it can be seen that AI ghostwriting is caused by some common AI mistakes, but AI has advanced so rapidly that it rarely makes obvious mistakes anymore.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Californian, the UC Berkeley student newspaper, Bohrz expressed concern that the future of mathematics could be affected by AI.
He said: “If AI continues to improve at its current rate, there will be nothing that human mathematicians can’t do better in a few years.”
As to whether young people who ideally aspire to become mathematicians should continue to pursue careers in mathematics, Bohrz said he is not sure. He said that five years ago, the mathematics community was still in a protective circle, not seriously affected by AI and not disrupted by AI technology like other industries. But now “I don’t know what advice I should give.”
He said, “I also asked ChatGPT about this issue and ChatGPT also said that it does not know what will happen in the future.”
Borcherz pointed out that educational institutions are often resistant to change, so universities may not be able to immediately adopt the rapid developments brought about by AI. He said that with the rapid development of AI capabilities, in the next few years the mathematics department may still function as it does now.
He cited academic journals as an example. Although paper magazines lost much of their importance decades ago, they continue to publish physical editions.
He said there have been many technological breakthroughs in history, including the abolition of hand-woven textiles by looms and the abolition of horses by automobiles, “but this is the first time that this has happened in the field of mathematics.”
Borcherz pointed out that online exams are now a “waste of time” because some students use AI to answer questions. He said it was impossible to tell which students were using AI, but he found that average scores on online exams increased overall.
Summary FAQ
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He changed the grading method because he found that many students used AI ghostwriters like ChatGPT to complete assignments, and the answers were almost correct. It was pointless to ask teaching assistants to correct them one by one, which was a waste of time and money.
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Bohrz said the new standard no longer depends on whether the answer is completely correct, but rather on whether the student completed the assignment as the basis for scoring, which will reduce the impact of AI ghostwriting on the grading system.
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He believes that AI is advancing very rapidly and may surpass the ability of human mathematicians within a few years. They are also concerned that mathematics departments, academic journals, and online exams may not be able to adapt immediately and may also be affected in the longer term.
