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> Homework scores once predicted exam performance As with most training the journey is the point, not the destination. That said, I think smart use of AI coul

> Homework scores once predicted exam performance As with most training the journey is the point, not the destination. That said, I think smart use of AI could help. It could explain concepts in a way that might help you understand better, it could probe your knowledge in a more dynamic way by tailoring questions, and so on. This requires the AI be restrained by some harness, not free to write down the answers for you.

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oblio 1mo ago
> This requires the AI be restrained by some harness How would this magic harness look like and why would anyone use it?
- jedberg 1mo ago
  "I need help with my homework, but I don't want answers, just guidance on how to get to the answer". Put that in your agents.md.
  - oblio 1mo ago
    I'm way beyond homework, but I do appreciate the compliment on seeming young! I meant: what's going to stop the average lazy student from ignoring whatever harness the university recommends and instead use an unrestricted LLM, thus learning nothing?
    - jedberg 1mo ago
      > what's going to stop the average lazy student from ignoring whatever harness the university recommends and instead use an unrestricted LLM, thus learning nothing? Nothing until they start failing exams and maybe seeing the error of their ways. My suggestions wasn't for you, it was for the smart student who wants to use AI to enhance their learning but not have it do all the work. But cheating isn't new. People have been cheating in school for centuries. It's easier now, but the consequences were always the same. At some point the chickens come home to roost and you pay the piper.
      - oblio 1mo ago
        > But cheating isn't new. People have been cheating in school for centuries. It's easier now, but the consequences were always the same. At some point the chickens come home to roost and you pay the piper. My concern is that with LLMs and above average bullshitting abilities, the chickens might never come home to roost.
        robryan 1mo ago
        I think that is fine, certain things are becoming less important to learn and certain things more important. With the pace of change it is likely to continue shifting.
        dag100 1mo ago
        I really don't see how anything but social skills are rising in prominence. Perhaps twenty years from now everything will depend on your connections as any "hard" problems will be readily solved by AI (seeing as few problems are ever really novel).
nxc18 1mo ago
> help. It could explain concepts in a way that might help you understand better People say that all the time, but does anyone really think a lack of good explanations for things is a limiting factor in 2026? Or even 2010?
- magicalhippo 1mo ago
  Back when I was studying there were topics which I had a really hard time grasping. Having a personal tutor that I could ask specific questions and have a back and forth with would have helped a lot I think. At least the few times I did have such an opportunity that was definitely the case.
  - sensanaty 1mo ago
    Kids are, by and large, lazy however. Hell, adults are lazy, this isn't even an indictment on kids or even people in general, I think our bodies & brains are simply wired to seek the path of least resistance from an evolutionary POV. Kids won't be using LLM tooling as a personal tutor following some sort of Socratic method, they'll ask it to solve their home/coursework for them and blindly copy/paste the answer. Hell, they'll just manually copy down what's on their screen if copy/pasting isn't possible for whatever reason. Obviously exceptions exist, but I'd wager from being an ex-kid myself the type of kid who would genuinely use these tools for actual proper self-tutoring would be an extreme rarity.
- jedberg 1mo ago
  When I was in college, we had office hours with the prof and the TAs, we had group study sessions, and private tutors. Or you could ask your friends. All of those required going somewhere at a specific place and time and asking someone else to give up their time for you. AI gives you a way to get the same help without asking another human. Say of that what you will, but not everyone was comfortable asking other humans for help even back then.
  - bendmorris 1mo ago
    You also have your book and a wealth of online resources, which also don't require interacting with someone, and which have the same information the AI is trained on. Fundamentally nothing is different. We don't see positive outcomes from students using AI as an aid even if hypothetically it could be possible.

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oblio 1mo ago

> This requires the AI be restrained by some harness How would this magic harness look like and why would anyone use it?

jedberg 1mo ago
"I need help with my homework, but I don't want answers, just guidance on how to get to the answer". Put that in your agents.md.
- oblio 1mo ago
  I'm way beyond homework, but I do appreciate the compliment on seeming young! I meant: what's going to stop the average lazy student from ignoring whatever harness the university recommends and instead use an unrestricted LLM, thus learning nothing?
  - jedberg 1mo ago
    > what's going to stop the average lazy student from ignoring whatever harness the university recommends and instead use an unrestricted LLM, thus learning nothing? Nothing until they start failing exams and maybe seeing the error of their ways. My suggestions wasn't for you, it was for the smart student who wants to use AI to enhance their learning but not have it do all the work. But cheating isn't new. People have been cheating in school for centuries. It's easier now, but the consequences were always the same. At some point the chickens come home to roost and you pay the piper.
    - oblio 1mo ago
      > But cheating isn't new. People have been cheating in school for centuries. It's easier now, but the consequences were always the same. At some point the chickens come home to roost and you pay the piper. My concern is that with LLMs and above average bullshitting abilities, the chickens might never come home to roost.
      - robryan 1mo ago
        I think that is fine, certain things are becoming less important to learn and certain things more important. With the pace of change it is likely to continue shifting.
        dag100 1mo ago
        I really don't see how anything but social skills are rising in prominence. Perhaps twenty years from now everything will depend on your connections as any "hard" problems will be readily solved by AI (seeing as few problems are ever really novel).

nxc18 1mo ago

> help. It could explain concepts in a way that might help you understand better People say that all the time, but does anyone really think a lack of good explanations for things is a limiting factor in 2026? Or even 2010?

magicalhippo 1mo ago
Back when I was studying there were topics which I had a really hard time grasping. Having a personal tutor that I could ask specific questions and have a back and forth with would have helped a lot I think. At least the few times I did have such an opportunity that was definitely the case.
- sensanaty 1mo ago
  Kids are, by and large, lazy however. Hell, adults are lazy, this isn't even an indictment on kids or even people in general, I think our bodies & brains are simply wired to seek the path of least resistance from an evolutionary POV. Kids won't be using LLM tooling as a personal tutor following some sort of Socratic method, they'll ask it to solve their home/coursework for them and blindly copy/paste the answer. Hell, they'll just manually copy down what's on their screen if copy/pasting isn't possible for whatever reason. Obviously exceptions exist, but I'd wager from being an ex-kid myself the type of kid who would genuinely use these tools for actual proper self-tutoring would be an extreme rarity.
jedberg 1mo ago
When I was in college, we had office hours with the prof and the TAs, we had group study sessions, and private tutors. Or you could ask your friends. All of those required going somewhere at a specific place and time and asking someone else to give up their time for you. AI gives you a way to get the same help without asking another human. Say of that what you will, but not everyone was comfortable asking other humans for help even back then.
- bendmorris 1mo ago
  You also have your book and a wealth of online resources, which also don't require interacting with someone, and which have the same information the AI is trained on. Fundamentally nothing is different. We don't see positive outcomes from students using AI as an aid even if hypothetically it could be possible.