Why would anyone take the time to write an essay when they have a robot that can do it better? That seems to be the attitude of some of my students. With the sudden and rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI), anyone with a computer also has a hard-to-detect cheating machine. Recently, two students both used it to answer essay questions on a project. Because it is difficult and usually impossible to prove that something was written by AI, I had to call and talk to both of them.
The first conversation went something like this:
Me: Hello, I’m calling to get a bit more information about the essay you wrote about your service project.
Student 1: Yeah, I really don’t remember much about that. I did that a long time ago.
Me: You turned it in yesterday.
Student 1: Sorry. I just don’t remember.
Me: Can you tell me what you did for the project?
Student 1: I think I helped serve food at the park.
Me: Your report says that you visited a nursing home. Could this have been written by AI?
Student 1: I didn’t use AI. All I did was use a program that corrects grammar.
Here is how I remember the second conversation:
Me: Hello, I’m calling to get a bit more information about the essay you wrote about your service project.
Student 2: Yeah. Do you want me to rewrite it?
Me: Did you use AI?
Student 2: Yes.
Although both of these students broke the same rule, their reactions to being found out were very different.
Have you ever wondered how King David could be named, “The Man After God’s Own Heart,” even though he committed adultery and murder? He replaced King Saul, who had disobeyed God by sparing the life of a conquered king and some cattle. In our world, David would go to prison and Saul would be re-elected. Instead, God took his Spirit from Saul and replaced it with a hard heart. David was given mercy and forgiveness. The difference between these two kings was their reaction to being caught.
God sent Samuel to confront Saul:
Saul: The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.
Samuel: What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?
Saul: The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.
1 Samuel 15:13-15
God sent Nathan to confront David:
Nathan: You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own.
David: I have sinned against the Lord.
2 Samuel 12:1-13
So, what makes David “The Man After God’s Own Heart?” Not a lack of sin, but an admission of guilt. Do you want to be a person after God’s own heart? Then tell the truth.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
1 John 1:8-10