How and how individuals and organizations are still struggling How much to integrate AI out of everyday life. Rarely has this been more apparent than in a case at Emory University, where the school went from awarding students a $10,000 entrepreneurship award for an AI-powered educational tool to suspending them for it. 404 Media reports. No, the students did not suddenly abuse the instrument known as the Eightball by any means; they did as they pleased, and all along Emory encouraged them—until they didn’t.
Eightball allowed students to turn any coursework or reading into practice tests or study flashcards. It’s also connected to Canvas—the platform professors at Emory use to share course materials with their students. A demo video for Eightball called it similar ChatGPT however, rather than having students upload each PDF individually to the tool, they are trained in Canvas courses, viewing everything from lectures to slides.
Emory’s Honor Council accused Eightball’s creators of cheating, plagiarism, and helping other students violate the Honor Code in November 2023, and the duo shut down the tool. The board also alleged that Eightball was unauthorized to tie to Canvas, even though it was notified during the spring 2023 award competition. The institution launched an investigation into the students, and it was determined that Eightball did not facilitate the fraud and that the student creators never lied. about the possibilities.
However, the Honor Council recommended a one-year suspension for one student, Benjamin Craver, and expulsion for another (who was considering Octagon). The board’s director called the situation “unprecedented” because of the damage it could do at Emory. Craver was eventually suspended for the summer and fall semesters of 2024 — after which he will have to reapply. He also received a grade on his permanent record and was required to complete a program of study. Its creator was suspended for one year.
Craver appealed to the court Eightball against Emory on May 20 showed transparency in how it came to be, faculty support and use, articles promoting it in the university newspaper, and student use all the time. Among other evidence, the lawsuit shares words of support from Emory’s business school associate dean’s choice to connect Eightball and students with an outside entrepreneur, an Emory Alumnus, after the award. “While nothing about Eightball has changed, Emory’s view of Eightball has changed dramatically,” Craver’s lawsuit said. “Emory admits there is no evidence that anyone used Eightball to cheat. And to this day, Emory touts Eightball as an example of student innovation and entrepreneurship.”
