What if Using AI Wasn't Cheating?
Today Dean talks to University of Calgary professor Dr. Sarah Eaton about academic integrity in the age of generative AI, moving beyond a simple cheating/not-cheating frame toward “post-plagiarism,” inspired by plagiarism scholar Rebecca Moore Howard’s “Don’t Police, Just Teach” approach and Eaton’s early awareness of GPT-2 in 2020. They discuss contract cheating as a pre-ChatGPT concern, including K–12 marketing to parents, and emphasize prevention through relationships, open conversations, formative assessment, and supportive accountability despite grade-driven incentives. Eaton critiques AI moral panics and notes emerging issues like AI agents and AI glasses, arguing bans can conflict with accessibility needs. She questions the value of AI disclosure given pervasive AI in tools like grammar checkers and Google, critiques detection-tool “arms race” dynamics, and highlights ethical concerns (environment, bias, labor, copyright) alongside AI’s potential benefits for equity and inclusion.
00:00 AI Disclosure Doubts
01:12 Meet Dr Sarah Eaton
04:17 Post Plagiarism Origins
06:21 AI On The Radar
07:39 Contract Cheating Era
09:03 K12 Essay Mill Marketing
10:41 Teaching Integrity Not Fear
14:16 Prevention And Support
16:03 Grades And Incentives
23:11 Tech Panics And Wearables
25:22 AI Literacy Gaps
26:19 Ethics And Resistance
28:22 Why We Must Engage
31:03 Deepfakes And Duty
32:57 Assessment In Real Time
37:03 Disclosure Debate
42:44 Detection Arms Race
45:23 Accessibility And Equity
47:35 Wrap Up And Recommendations