KEY POINTS
AI's rise in education is exposing flaws in traditional learning methods, and prompting reassessment.
Matthew Seitz, Director of the AI Hub at University of Wisconsin-Madison, discusses the obsolescence of traditional study habits and work due to AI-generated content.
Universities are experimenting with new assessment methods to adapt to AI's influence on student work, but the lack of a unified approach to AI in education leads to mixed messages about its role and value.
"All of that used to be a struggle. But at the end, you learned from the exercise. Now, I can type a prompt and I have that essay in my fingertips."
At its core, traditional education conflicts with how AI operates. The technology is reshaping how students learn, how teachers assess, and what the classroom experience means. Its rise is exposing deep cracks in the system, while also revealing new paths forward.
Matthew Seitz, Director of the AI Hub for Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, author of the ExplAIn it like I'm busy newsletter, and Google's former Director of Performance, sees firsthand how established educational practices are being upended by AI's impact on learning and research.
Essay undone: Seitz points to the traditional essay as a clear casualty of AI's rise. Once a learning tool rooted in effort and process, it is now easily bypassed. "All of that used to be a struggle," says Seitz. "But at the end, you learned from the exercise. Now, I can type a prompt and I have that essay at my fingertips,” he explains. The old approach to academic work is no match for the ease of AI-generated content and the modern student experience.
Grading the ghostwriter: With AI blurring the line between original work and generated output, educators can no longer take a polished essay at face value. "You have to go deeper and ask, how did they produce that essay?" Seitz says. "Do they really understand it? Or did they just get a prompt to write it?" The real question, he adds, is whether students are still learning in the same way they did when they had to do the work themselves.
"Some of the core constructs for how people learn are being challenged."
Assessment overhaul: "Some of the core constructs for how people learn are being challenged," Seitz says. In response, universities are rethinking how to assess learning, experimenting with handwritten and oral exams, and reconsidering how AI tools like chatbots fit into assignments. The goal, he emphasizes, is to "structure it in a way that you're learning, and not just regurgitating."
"I don’t think we have the answer yet," Seitz admits. The challenge, as he sees it, is twofold: first, figuring out how to fairly assess student performance in an AI-influenced environment; and second, ensuring universities still deliver a meaningful, authentic educational experience.
Mixed signals: Students are told AI is essential for their futures, yet some professors ban it outright in the classroom—a contradiction Seitz calls "a massive disconnect." Yet, this AI ban is by no means across the board. Seitz sees it as an "individual level disconnect," as faculty members embrace or reject AI of their own accord, without a clear playbook to follow.
But the UW Business school is working to set the signal straight. Seitz points to coordinated efforts to bring clarity and consistency to AI’s role in education: “Our teaching and learning team is defining what an AI-enabled classroom looks like,” while their programming team is actively auditing the curriculum to reflect how AI is reshaping the business world.
Shallow grasp, deep impact: "Eighty to ninety percent of people I talk to are super shallow with AI," Seitz says. "They've read a couple of articles, they've come to a couple of conclusions, and that's what they've got.” He doesn't blame them—AI's rise has been fast—but he warns the understanding hasn't kept pace. "There's a significant lack of depth," he adds, urging more serious engagement.
This kind of depth matters especially in education, where students will need to distinguish between areas where AI can assist—like a calculator—and areas where foundational knowledge is non-negotiable. Seitz says AI ultimately forces a foundational question: "What is the value of intelligence?" This shift, he believes, is just beginning—"It’s going to reshape our world."
