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Update

What changed

Richard Borcherds says he now bases grades mainly on in-person exams without electronic devices, while online exams have become “a waste of time” because some students use AI to answer questions. He says he cannot tell which students use AI, but has noticed substantially higher average scores on online exams.

The account also adds that UC Berkeley explored AI-detection tools including Turnitin and Rumi, but did not adopt them as a standard campus-wide solution because they were considered unreliable. Instructors set out their own course rules for AI use.

Borcherds says he does not know what to advise aspiring mathematicians about choosing the field as AI advances. Those details come from the Yahoo-published account, which attributes the remarks to The California Post and the Daily Californian.

Sources and evidence

• UC Berkeley professor refuses to grade his students’ homework after noticing worrying trend: ‘No point’ – Yahoo: Borcherds says he now relies mainly on in-person exams without electronic devices, regards online exams as ineffective because some students use AI, and cannot identify which students do so. The account says Berkeley explored but did not standardise AI-detection tools because they were considered unreliable.

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