To cheat or not to cheat (yep, I stole that)

I pride myself on my writing. So I took it as a personal affront when, last week, an administrator told me to use AI to write my letters of recommendation this year.

Should I be offended though?

I am not here to judge those jumping on the AI train: We are all looking for solutions to summit our mountain of “things to do.” But I do bristle when this decision adds one more pebble to my rock mountain. Just yesterday, two students came to me asking for a letter of recommendation because their teacher said they would use AI.

Why? Because kids are smart. They know a human-written letter increases their chances of acceptance, whereas banal platitudes about their “strong work ethic” and “exceptional ability” says – literally – nothing about them.

Sadly, my work may not even matter. According to The Nation’s Marium Zahra, colleges may soon be using AI to even read my letter. Are college admissions, then, becoming an elaborate farce? Robots admitting robots who perform robot jobs? To paraphrase Ms. Spencer: Doesn’t anyone read science fiction anymore?

Honestly, I’m not sure what stops me from using AI. Possibly stubbornness. Or the aforementioned pride. Maybe it’s just because I care about my students. I like writing about how great they are.

Long may that be my downfall.