If AI can do your classwork, why go to college?

In this episode of "The Gray Area," Sean Illing interviews James Walsh, a features writer for New York magazine, about his unsettling piece on the impact of AI on higher education. They discuss how students are using AI tools like ChatGPT to cheat on essays, homework, and exams, leading to a "cheating utopia" that professors are struggling to address. Walsh shares insights from his interviews with students and professors, revealing a story of ambivalence, disillusionment, and despair as technology outpaces institutional adaptation. The conversation explores the various platforms students use, the changing definition of cheating, and the potential consequences for the future of writing, thinking, and higher education itself, including the possibility of a post-literate society.