MUN Professor: Cheating With AI Is "Selling Yourself Short"

As a new post-secondary semester begins, a Memorial University computer science professor is warning students that using AI to shortcut coursework carries real, longer-term costs, even if it produces a passable grade in the moment, according to CBC News's reporting on the university's approach heading into the fall term.

Associate professor Dave Churchill, who teaches an introduction to AI course at Memorial University, offered a genuinely memorable framing for why relying on AI to complete assignments undermines the actual point of a degree. He likened using AI programs to complete assigned work faster and get better grades to "bringing a forklift with you to the gym," according to Yahoo News's reporting on his comments. "You'll lift a lot of weight that day but personally be no better for tomorrow," Churchill said, adding directly: "It really is just selling yourself short."

This isn't purely anecdotal caution. Tovi Grossman, a professor of computer science at the University of Toronto who has studied variations in how students actually use AI tools, found a meaningful performance gap tied directly to how the technology gets used. In an experiment, students using AI in "a more responsible way," for a hint on approaching a writing prompt, or as a sounding board to iterate on initial ideas, ultimately performed well on an initial knowledge test but also scored better on a follow-up test measuring information retention, compared to students who relied on AI throughout the entire task, according to CBC's reporting on the findings.

The Two Approaches to Student AI Use, Compared

Both professors were explicit that the goal isn't eliminating AI from academic life, it's establishing genuine boundaries around appropriate use. Churchill emphasized that AI "isn't demonized" at Memorial University, but there are real limits on its usage by degree-seeking students. Grossman echoed that framing, describing AI as "a tool and not a means to entirely avoid work" altogether.

This guidance builds on genuine, existing institutional policy rather than being created from scratch this semester. At the K-12 level, NLSchools maintains formal Artificial Intelligence Guidelines for Schools that teachers are expected to follow, according to CBC's reporting, connected to the broader provincial AI education policy framework we've tracked closely, including our earlier coverage of New Brunswick's own escalating pattern of AI misuse in public institutions. Education Minister Paul Dinn offered a historical comparison for the technology's arrival, telling CBC News he recalls moving from typewriters to computers to laptops and smartphones over his own career, and views AI as falling into that same pattern of technological advancement rather than something to pretend doesn't exist.

This story is worth understanding for any business evaluating how the incoming workforce is actually learning to use AI tools, since the distinction Grossman's research draws, AI as a genuine thinking aid versus AI as a complete work substitute, maps directly onto the same tension employers increasingly face with employees using AI on the job. A workforce trained to treat AI as a total substitute for effort during their education may carry that same habit directly into professional settings.

For businesses in education technology or corporate training specifically, this research offers a genuinely useful framework worth adapting: measuring not just immediate task completion, but longer-term retention and skill development, when evaluating whether AI tools are actually building employee capability or simply masking gaps in it.

What did the MUN professor compare AI cheating to?
Associate professor Dave Churchill compared using AI to complete coursework quickly to bringing a forklift to the gym, saying it produces immediate results without building any lasting personal capability.

Does research actually show a difference between responsible and heavy AI use?
Yes. University of Toronto professor Tovi Grossman's research found students who used AI responsibly, for hints or brainstorming rather than complete task substitution, performed better on tests measuring information retention compared to students who relied on AI throughout an assignment.

Does Newfoundland and Labrador have formal AI guidelines for schools?
Yes. NLSchools maintains Artificial Intelligence Guidelines for Schools that K-12 teachers are expected to follow, while Memorial University applies its own institutional guidance for AI use among degree-seeking students.

Memorial University associate professor Dave Churchill compared using AI to cheat on coursework to bringing a forklift to the gym, warning students they're "selling themselves short" even if it produces a passable grade. University of Toronto professor Tovi Grossman's research backs up the concern with real data, finding students who used AI responsibly for hints and brainstorming retained information better than those who relied on AI throughout an assignment. Both professors emphasized the goal isn't banning AI outright but establishing genuine boundaries, a framing that fits Newfoundland and Labrador's existing K-12 AI guidelines and Education Minister Paul Dinn's characterization of AI as a natural extension of past technological shifts like the move from typewriters to computers.