UC Berkeley professor admits to using AI to edit op-ed about students’ math skills
Summary
A UC Berkeley math professor admitted using artificial intelligence (AI) to help edit an opinion article about students’ poor math skills. The article pointed to test-blind admissions as a cause for lower student preparedness, sparking debate on social media about the use of AI by academics.Key Facts
- Professor Zvezdelina Stankova wrote an op-ed claiming some math students are five to eight years behind and lack basic algebra skills.
- She blamed UC California’s test-blind admission policy for allowing underprepared students into Berkeley’s math program.
- Journalists suspected AI involvement and used software that found about 33% of the op-ed might have AI-generated content.
- Stankova said AI was used only for editing and research help, with the analysis coming from human work and her team’s expertise.
- The San Francisco Standard, which published the op-ed, expects human responsibility behind all published articles despite AI assistance.
- The debate about using standardized tests like the SAT or ACT in UC admissions has grown, with the UC system reviewing whether to reinstate testing by 2028.
- UC Berkeley has an AI council to help guide AI use but lacks clear rules on AI use in academic writing.
- AI detection tools like Pangram claim high accuracy but may still produce false positives and lack nuance.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
