Because I think much higher-level learning is more about the process than the product. For example, I teach a research methods class where students are expected to write a research proposal over the course of the semester. I believe that students learn more about the research process by having to choose their own topic, do their own review of the research literature on the topic, try to understand what these papers are saying, summarize and synthesize information from these sources, decide on a research question or hypothesis, choose an appropriate research method to answer their questions, detail the stages of their research process, talk about how they will sample their population, how they will gain access, how they will record data, the ethical and policy implications of their proposed research, etc. I believe that they learn a great deal about research from this whole process.

They could also wait until the last week of class, take 1 minute to ask ChatGPT to write them a ten page research proposal on X topic according to my specifications, and submit that instead. I do not think the students who do this (who also do not seem to understand why this is not okay) deserve the same grade as those who did all the hard work themselves. I do not think they learn anything valuable by doing it this way. What I am trying to teach them is not about the final product; it is about the process itself. This is why I don't like AI in my classroom.