College philosophy professor redesigns essays to stop AI cheating — requires students to defend their arguments in person

A philosophy instructor discovered that AI language models (software that generates human-like text) were writing high-quality essays for students, making it impossible to catch cheaters through traditional plagiarism detection. The professor responded by replacing take-home essays with in-class oral defense sessions, where students must explain and justify their written arguments face-to-face.

The new format forces students to genuinely understand the material rather than outsource thinking to AI — students who submit AI-written essays will immediately fail the defense when they cannot explain their own arguments. This works because AI can write persuasive philosophy, but students cannot fake understanding when questioned in real time.

For college students and instructors, this signals a shift away from written assignments as proof of learning. Other educators facing similar AI cheating will likely adopt similar verification methods (live presentations, proctored exams, real-time problem-solving), making it harder to cut corners but also pushing courses to actually test whether students learned anything.