Economist Steve Hanke says he has little trouble spotting when students use artificial intelligence to complete assignments, pointing to gaps between their normal abilities and AI-generated work.
Hanke, a longtime Johns Hopkins University professor of applied economics, said it is “very easy” to distinguish a student’s work from chatbot-generated writing. He said the difference often becomes obvious when a submission does not match a student’s usual writing skills or knowledge, Business Insider reported Sunday.
“I have absolutely no problem with AI and students,” Hanke said.
Hanke Says AI Cheating Is Easy to Spot
Hanke described himself as an “old fox” who can quickly recognize when a student’s work does not match their demonstrated ability. He said years of teaching have given him a strong sense of his students’ knowledge and writing style.
Hanke said AI-generated work can be “blatant” when it suddenly shows a level of writing or economic knowledge that a student has not demonstrated before. He said the main challenge is that AI requires professors to be more alert when reviewing assignments.
Hanke has taught at Johns Hopkins for nearly 60 years and previously served on President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers.
AI Makes Cheating Easier
The challenge is becoming more pronounced as generative AI makes it easier for students to produce polished work without doing the underlying assignments.
“The Big Short” investor Michael Burry recently argued that ChatGPT’s biggest breakthrough was making cheating in school “a literal no-brainer.” His comments reflect the growing concern that AI has lowered the barrier for students who want to outsource schoolwork to chatbots.
That creates a tension for educators. The technology may make cheating easier, but Hanke argues that experienced professors can still identify work that does not match a student’s normal abilities.
Students Face Broader Learning Concerns
The debate extends beyond whether professors can catch AI-generated assignments. Some educators have raised concerns about students increasingly relying on AI-generated summaries instead of completing assigned reading, with potential effects on reading comprehension and critical thinking.
Professors have also been changing how they teach, including spending more time working through texts in class and helping students process complex material.
For Hanke, the mismatch between a student’s normal skills and an AI-generated submission is one of the clearest warning signs.
AI Is Moving Into Classrooms
At the same time, AI is becoming a more accepted tool for educators themselves.
Anthropic launched Claude for Teachers to give verified U.S. K-12 educators access to AI tools for lesson planning, classroom materials, assessments and administrative tasks. The company also introduced training resources focused on responsible AI use in schools.
The growing use of AI by teachers complicates the idea that its presence in education is inherently a problem. The bigger question is increasingly how educators distinguish between AI being used as a learning aid and AI replacing the work a student is expected to do.
Hanke’s position leaves room for that distinction. He said he has “absolutely no problem” with AI and students. His concern is whether the final work reflects the student’s own abilities.
Former Harvard and Columbia admissions dean Drusilla Blackman similarly said AI use can become evident when submitted work does not match a student’s usual writing or critical-thinking ability.
For educators, the challenge may therefore be less about eliminating AI from classrooms and more about setting clear boundaries for how students use it.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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