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https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/chatgpt-5-just-changed-my-mind-ai-has-no-place-in-my-classroom-b23468fa4313>
"I’ve never been anti-technology. I’ve even written about ways AI can help
students when it’s used with care. But my first real encounter with ChatGPT-5 —
released just yesterday— stopped me cold. This is different. This is dangerous.
And I’m finally sounding the alarm.
Since ChatGPT first debuted in 2023, I’ve relied on a system.
Early in the semester, I got to know each student’s unique voice through
smaller, in-class assignments. Only later would I assign longer papers. By
then, I recognized the rhythm of their sentences, the way they transitioned
between ideas, even the little detours they took before circling back. If
something came in that didn’t match, I noticed.
That safeguard is gone. Take a look at these papers ChatGPT-5 produced for
several of my assignments — I annotated and graded them as if the program were
an actual student.
ChatGPT-5 can now mimic a student’s writing so precisely that I struggle to
tell the difference. Feed it a few past essays, and it will flawlessly
reproduce the quirks, pacing, and diction. It can generate a paper in that same
voice — complete with accurate citations — polished to look as if it took
hours.
Even a hard-to-find PDF or obscure text poses no challenge; upload it, and
GPT-5 will read, analyze, and weave it seamlessly into the work. I’m not
revealing any trade secrets here. Students know this. Teachers know it — or
they should.
While many educators are working hard to integrate generative AI into their
classrooms, I’m now convinced that when it comes to teaching writing and
critical thinking, AI takes far more than it gives. The exchange isn’t remotely
equal. It’s not a Faustian bargain — it’s worse.
What it offers in efficiency, it erodes in depth. Students can lean on it
before developing the habits, patience, and skill that real writing demands.
The slow, sometimes frustrating process of wrestling with a sentence, choosing
the evidence that best supports an argument, or discovering a new insight
mid-draft — these are the moments when thinking happens, however
time-consuming, inconvenient, and uncomfortable.
When generative AI shortcuts that process, it doesn’t just “assist” — it
replaces the very struggle that leads to growth. In my own classroom, that
means AI isn’t just a neutral tool — it’s a detriment to helping students
become confident writers and critical thinkers."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
