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By Soo Kim
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A post highlighting a professor’s frustration over widespread AI-generated student writing has gone viral on social media, striking a nerve amid ongoing debates about artificial intelligence in education.
The Reddit post, shared by u/MortemPerPectus on December 14 in the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, has since amassed over 24,000 views. Titled "Three weeks of hard work on a paper all for nothing because of AI use," it features screenshots of what appears to be a notice sent by a professor to their class after reviewing final papers.
In the notice, the professor opens with a message to students, saying: "I want to take a moment to speak candidly with all of you. Over the past week as I have been reading your final papers, I have noticed a level of AI-generated writing that has left me deeply disappointed. Many of the submissions are so heavily AI-infused that they no longer reflect your voices, your thinking, or the skills this course is designed to build. It is disheartening for me as your instructor and what this means for your own learning."
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AI use among students is increasingly common. In a survey conducted by the Digital Education Council that gathered nearly 4,000 responses from bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate students across 16 countries, 86 percent of respondents said they use AI in their studies. Just over half, 54 percent, reported using AI at least weekly, with students using an average of 2.1 AI tools each.
In the Reddit post, the professor warned students that relying on AI-generated writing ultimately harms them, saying, "you are harming yourselves" and that "you weaken not just your ability to write, but also your ability to reason, to communicate, and to advocate for yourselves."
The notice goes on to describe the instructor’s emotional response to the situation, expressing "frustration and sadness," adding, "I hate, absolutely hate how AI has forced me to turn into a punitive detective, rather than, well, a teacher."
Citing the difficulty of determining which work was authentic, the professor announced an unusual grading decision: "Given the extent of AI-derived work I have encountered, I am making an unusual decision for the Position Paper assignment: I am giving everyone a 10/10 on the final paper. At this point, attempting to separate authentic work from AI-produced work has become counterproductive…"
The professor also canceled another assignment, noting, "I have also decided to cancel your Media Analysis assignment. You do not need to submit anything and everyone will receive full credit."
However, the instructor emphasized that the decision was not meant as a reward. "This is not a reward. It is a warning. If you leave this course without having practiced your writing, you will feel the consequences later, academically, professionally, and personally," the notice said.
The message later shared a pointed reminder: "You deserve more than to let a machine do your thinking…you are capable of far better work than what I have seen…but I cannot want your learning more than you do."
In the caption accompanying the Reddit post, u/MortemPerPectus expressed mixed feelings about the outcome. While relieved that the final assignment was canceled, the user wrote that it was "mildly infuriating" because they had spent three weeks on the previous position paper, writing more than 3,000 words arguing against the use of AI, including in education. The user said they were "really proud" of the work and had hoped for feedback to improve their writing, adding that the "Instructor got so disappointed he gave up on the entire class."
'Sad State of Affairs'
The post resonated with many Reddit users, several of whom voiced sympathy for the professor.
User u/ilikecats415 wrote: "I teach college writing and I felt this in my bones."
Another commenter, u/AreYouBeingTruthful, posted: "I feel bad for the instructor. The summation of their feelings of defeat and their struggle will hopefully compel a few people to try harder."
Referencing the professor’s line saying "I cannot want your learning more than you do," u/WhoIsYerWan commented: "If that doesn’t sink deep for people, there’s no saving them."
Others reflected on the broader implications of canceling assignments. "I think the instructor's point is that by canceling the assignment, they're losing the opportunity to learn and develop their skills—that's the punishment," u/Poodlestrike wrote, calling it "a genuinely sad state of affairs."
Still, some were more skeptical, with u/swellfog responding, "This is a pipe dream. These kids just care they got away with it."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.
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