Media Analysis: AI is starting to make some classrooms look a little more old school

Original Article: AI-enabled cheating is forcing some schools to go analog

Publisher: Business Insider (USA)

Author: Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert & Henry Chandonnet

Publication Date: 11th July 2026

Summary of the original article:

Business Insider (11th July 2026) has published an article titled; "AI-enabled cheating is forcing some schools to go analog" There is more to this article than the attention grabbing headline suggests, as it examines how the Chicago University of Law is addressing the challenge of educating and assessing its students - primarily to equip them with the skills needed for a future workforce. The article reports that the university has taken an approach where it is redesigning its curriculum to ensure students first develop the ability to think critically and independently before learning how to use AI effectively. As part of this strategy, first-year students will not be permitted to use laptops or phones in core classes or exams, while AI is progressively introduced into later stages of the programme.

Adam Chilton, dean of the University of Chicago Law School, told Business Insider that educators had been; "a little bit asleep at the wheel" by continuing to assign take-home work that students can complete with AI "without thinking for yourself, without learning for yourself."

However, he also realises the importance of ensuring that students are not left graduating without AI literacy as law firms are expecting their new hires to leverage the benefits of AI effectively. Thus, why AI skills will be key part of student learning, but only after their first year of study which will prioritise their development of other skills.

Why it matters for A4-AI (Academics for AI):

This article is another example of how universities are taking different approaches to addressing the challenges of AI and how to incorporate it into the educating of their students. In the past couple of years, there seems to be a clear realisation that AI literacy will be an essential part of students education

As an example, in June this year the University of Leicester in the UK announced plans to provide all students and staff with access to MS 365 Copilot. Like the University of Chicago Law School, it is a determined step to develop AI literacy skills in their students...but taking a quite different approach.

Questions for Academia:

It is evident that there is now a growing acceptance by universities that AI skills are an expectation that the corporate world has of its graduates. The questions are how different fields of study develop these skills in their students, what are the specific skills and how to deliver these skills without undermining the development of other skills (such as collaboration, critical thinking etc.).

What we are seeing now around the world are universities taking different approaches to address their AI issues. The approach taken by University of Chicago Law School is an interesting one, where a deliberate strategy is being followed to exclude AI in the first year of teaching before seeing it included in the following years of the course.

It is an approach designed to ensure students develop AI literacy skills without losing out on the development of traditional skills. However, there may be other variants to this approach. For example, perhaps some universities and courses may see some subjects take differing policies on the inclusion or exclusion of AI, and that these subjects are spread throughout the years of teaching?

Ultimately, the world of academia is still getting to grips with addressing the use and teaching of AI and it is only a good thing that different approaches are being tried out. Maybe a consensus is soon reached on what will be the best practice for the use and teaching of AI? Or maybe it is ok for there to be differences and for educators to choose what they believe works best for them and their students.

Of course, the more sharing of successes and failures between educators in their approaches will be critical.

Read the original article: Here at Business Insider