Nearly 6 in 10 teens say AI cheating is happening at their school. But what if the real issue is not just cheating, it’s confusion about what schoolwork is actually for?

We explore a powerful idea from Tony Frontier’s AI with Intention: fidelity. When students use AI to summarize a text, generate ideas, or speed up part of an assignment, are they cheating, or are they responding to unclear expectations about the purpose of the work?

Topics covered

• Pew research on AI cheating in schools
• Fidelity vs. cheating
• Assignment purpose and teacher communication
• AI as a shortcut vs. AI as a support
• Reading comprehension, writing, and hidden learning loss
• Why explicit expectations matter
• Implications for classroom practice and district policy

Pew research

AI with Intention: Principles and Action Steps for Teachers and School Leaders