100+ students caught using AI to fake attendance and apologies

Two University of Illinois professors caught over 100 students cheating on attendance using AI-generated apologies, exposing widespread academic dishonesty in higher education. The incident highlights how artificial intelligence is being misused by students not just for coursework, but even for personal communications with faculty, raising fundamental questions about learning and academic integrity.

What happened: Statistics professor Karle Flanagan and computer scientist Wade Fagen-Ulmschneider discovered that students in their 1,000+ person Data Science Discovery course were claiming attendance without being present.
• Students were using a QR code system called Data Science Clicker to prove attendance by answering time-limited questions during class.
• The professors noticed more students were answering questions than were physically in the lecture hall.
• Server logs revealed students were being tipped off about when questions went live and answering remotely.

The AI twist: When confronted, approximately 80% of student apologies were nearly identical and appeared to be AI-generated.
• The professors initially felt moved by what seemed like genuine contrition from students.
• A closer look revealed the apologies shared the same phrasing, particularly the phrase “sincerely apologize.”
• On October 17, the professors displayed a mash-up of the similar apologies during class as a “life lesson.”

The bigger problem: Teaching assistants and students report AI misuse extends far beyond attendance cheating.
• One teaching assistant claimed “it’s insane how pervasive AI slop is in 75% of the turned-in work.”
• Students routinely submit AI-generated “personal reflection” papers and use AI to solve coding problems.
• AI tools often reveal themselves by using functions not taught in class.

Why this matters: The incident reflects a broader crisis in higher education where students are outsourcing critical thinking and personal expression to AI.
• Students at elite schools increasingly use AI to summarize readings rather than engaging with complex texts directly.
• The practice undermines the development of essential skills like critical thinking and written expression.
• Both students and professors express frustration with the current state of AI detection and academic integrity.

What they’re saying: The professors treated the situation as a learning opportunity rather than pursuing disciplinary action.
• “We reached out to them with a warning, and asked them, ‘Please explain what you just did,'” said Fagen-Ulmschneider.
• Flanagan hoped the public callout would serve as a “life lesson” for students.
• One Reddit user claiming to be a teaching assistant noted that students “would have a 75-word paragraph due every week and it was all AI generated.”