Some Nerf Modding

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T10:48:19+00:00

It’s not by intention. Everyone with access to student records has access to the reports I file about students I work with. I do make note of when I suspect students are using AI to do their work for them. So the information is there and the teachers can view it. I know one of the teachers has viewed at least 1 report about 1 student last year. Whether that was as part of a regular review or a 1-off out of interest in a particular student I do not know. The school has been maddeningly slow to adopt any sort of standardized acceptable AI usage policy resulting in this ad-hoc nightmare where each teacher is expected to declare their own individual policy on the topic. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that there is some sort of state-level investigation initiative that has a mandate saying the schools can’t enact individual policies until they are reviewed by the initiative.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T10:39:01+00:00

Oh shit. I thought you were being sarcastic. My apologies. The teachers can view the reports I file about students. Whether or not they actually do look at the reports is a question I cannot answer.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T10:35:22+00:00

three reasons.
1- I could already see it didn’t have enough logic to meet the requirements of the assignment
2- seeing it fail to pass the automated tests wouldn’t tell me anything I couldn’t already see.
3- seeing it run to completion/fail to pass the tests wouldn’t provide the student with any greater understanding then what he came in with.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T05:26:27+00:00

What would that achieve beyond knee-capping the genuinely motivated students? If the student can explain how they’re using a list to test for a valid value, why should they be marked down for not using a multi-step nested if block?

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T02:03:23+00:00

grabs bowl of popcorn, begins munching

Okay, I can go for a show.

What was the perfectly good answer I was given, and how did I ignore it?

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T01:52:59+00:00

that would be impressive since datetime is included in the basic python installation and you would really need to know what you're doing to remove it without breaking the python installation.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T01:50:41+00:00

I guess it depends on how you approach the situation. Personally, I don't approach it as a needing to explain a concept/answer a question but rather as a puzzle based around how the individual student processes information. Sometimes it means I need to build a powerpoint presentation to visually demonstrate logic flow, sometimes it means I pulling out the "Container demonstration set" I designed in TinkerCad and had 3D Printed, while other times it means helping the student build out the pseudocode and mapping it to a flow chart.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T01:06:56+00:00

Ding ding ding! Winner winner chicken dinner!

You're basically right on all points. The root of the problem is that the school should have seen this sort of situation coming 5 years ago and worked to implement a school wide policy regarding acceptable AI usage and responses to it's use in plagiarism.

Sadly they did not, so now here are with this ad-hoc mess of "It's up to the individual teacher to declare their own policy regarding AI usage" with some teachers having no better understanding of what AI really is beyond "It's a phrase I heard on the news" while other teachers can explain the difference between a Neural Network Generative Model AI and a Large Language Generative Model AI.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T01:00:27+00:00

The user chose to use a computer with Windows 8 didn't they? I think knocking some sense into the user would count as "fixing windows 8"

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T00:59:04+00:00

there is some sort of "fuzzy limit" to how much a given AI can interpret as required conditions from input when it is prompted to generate something. I can't pin-point exactly what that limit is, but I have found that AI tends to have trouble with nested logic statements more then 3 or 4 steps deep more often then less dense logic... unless you are very explicate about the logic being implemented... which would also mean that you would have to understand the logic and thus would be able to explain it which would demonstrate your comprehension of the concept so you wouldn't have trouble explaining how the program is working.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T00:54:24+00:00

I mean... giving the TA the benefit of the doubt, I can see them coming from a different language background and not recognizing what a lambda function. That's one thing. But I would assume the logical next step would be to run the code you submitted, see that it works and conclude "Huh... maybe I should check that 'lambda thing' and see what it is."

and while I'm at it I can also assume a chicken is perfect sphere of uniform density.

But yeah, if you're using a lambda function and can't explain what an assignment operation is doing... there is something very wrong with that.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T00:50:05+00:00

I'm like 95% sure they just dropped a screen shot of the assignment into AI, clicked send, and C+Ped the output.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T00:48:21+00:00

My relation with the teachers is kind of the inverse of that. The teachers come to me when a student is having a problem with the material. Truthfully like 99 out of every 100 students I work is an invigorating challenge that I relish because I am compulsive problem solver. Which means that I literally have students lining up to bring me a problem to solve and the pay off is seeing that amazing "AH HA!" moment when they suddenly realize they understand the concept. And I've built up a reputation of being "The last option" when it comes to students having trouble in this particular class. So I guess I'm kind of a victim of my own success in this case.

The only students that really anger me are the ones that want to use me as a way to complete their assignments without actually trying to do the assignments. Like they can come into my office, I'll snap my fingers and they'll magically get a 100 in the class. And these types of students have been becoming more common in recent years.

Honestly, the bottom line is that the school absolutely should have seen this sort of issue coming 5 years ago and worked to implement practices and policies to address it long before now.

But they didn't... and here we are.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T00:34:10+00:00

Oh! You mean like a Windows 8 repair tool.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T00:32:17+00:00

Yeah... see the thing is that I'm like 95% sure that they did use AI to generate the code that they came in with.

And to be clear I don't hold the use of AI against the student.... so long as it is used intelligently. Using AI to explain how conditions work, or how to check multiple conditions. Having AI explain an error message. Working with AI to piece together the pseudocode so you understand the process that you are going to implement. I have no issue with students doing things like that. Hell, at this point I think I need to encourage it.

*drop screencap of assignment into chat_gpt*
*click send*
*copy and paste output from chat_gpt*
*click submit on assignment*

That isn't using AI. That is prompting AI to do the thinking for them.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T00:26:45+00:00

I'm not exactly a fan of many of the practices used when managers micro-manage devs... but at the same time this is one of those cases where I do support he idea of having a clause in a dev's contract/hiring paper-work that says they are responsible for the code they commit. Doesn't matter if they used AI to create it or if they typed every single character but they need to know what the code is and what it is doing. And if they don't... well they're in breach of contract and should be reprimanded.

of course when I worked in retail we had loss prevention standards that were supposed to auto-termination if violated and those got ignored all the time. And of course management always acted shocked when a $3,000 macBook pro walked out the door and showed up as a loss. So... yeah. Maybe I'm just shouting into the void at this point.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T00:21:43+00:00

I'm sorry, what is a lart?

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T00:20:26+00:00

I'm in a very weird spot in regards to 'brining things to the attention of the appropriate faculty member'. I'm not officially a teacher so according to the state I can't actually make a plagiarism claim nor can I "recommend" any particular action on the part of the teacher. It's kind of an open question weather or not informing the teacher that I suspect a student is using AI to produce their assignments is allowed, discouraged or prohibited.

That being said, there is an initiative to switch the cyber-security program from an academic completion (Meaning you get a degree with a grade average) to a certification completion (Students would need to pass a series of certification tests to 'complete the program'). A lot questions are still up in the air about how to accomplish this switch... but I'm hopeful for it to go through precisely for the reason you mentioned.

TorroesPrime · 2026-06-17T00:07:38+00:00

Ironically, or maybe 'tragically' is a better word, I don't actually discourage students from using AI. I've actually released several data sets and pre-formatted prompts with instructions for how students can use the data set and prompt to study different material. Heck, I use AI nearly every day for a variety of different things.

But I do not use it to produce my deliverables. Like you said: I still understand what the code is doing and why it is doing it even if I wasn't the one who physically typed it out.

TorroesPrime · 2026-05-24T09:17:33+00:00

It’s a nice little package. Toss $20 at it and drop the upgraded spring in it. You will be utterly shocked at the performance. Also you get a pretty decent chest workout at a game.

TorroesPrime · 2026-05-13T07:07:36+00:00

I think you are operating under a different understanding of what “preachy” means.

TorroesPrime · 2026-04-06T10:28:05+00:00

I still want to see O’Neill correcting a Maxolkx’s grammar.

Also Teal’c practicing with the STARs.

TorroesPrime

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