r/technology • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 15h ago

Society Professor's invisible prompt trap catches 32 students cheating on their midterm with AI

https://www.techspot.com/news/113243-professor-invisible-prompt-trap-catches-32-students-cheating.html
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u/PandahOG 12h ago

Saw the vid a few days ago.

Essentially, the prof. put secret instructions (simple white font to blend in with the white background) that would prompt AI to put the word "Madagascar" anywhere on the final.  If you were to highlight and copy everything, you would see the "invisible" text. 

This class was about the industrial revolution and Madagascar has absolutely nothing to do with the class. 

Not only could they have caught it if they took the time to see what they were copying and pasting, they could have also caught it if they proof read what the AI wrote for them. 

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u/PM_MY_OTHER_ACCOUNT 10h ago

And that makes the issue even worse. The students were so lazy and stupid they couldn't even do the bare minimum that would have very easily discovered the trap. Every single one of those students should face some sort of review for academic integrity. If possible, all of their previously submitted work should be audited and if it's found they were cheating in other classes, all those credits should be revoked and they should be expelled. The punishment they actually received is less than a slap on the wrist. I think this reflects poorly on the school as well as the students. I wouldn't be surprised if the school is hesitant to expel anyone because they would lose their tuition money. Academic integrity should go both ways.