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Harvard Fellow: Universities Must Teach Judgment, Not Cheating

8/16/2026

Summary

Story summary

Harvard Fellow Christopher Dede said universities prepare students to lose to AI by emphasizing “reckoning” tests over judgment.
He argued AI will soon perform skill it can teach, making workplace tools easier to build than teaching tools, while warning the AI debate focuses on cheating prevention instead of improving learning.
He suggested AI-enabled learning and simulations let students practice judgment, and predicted non-elite universities will revamp curricula to stress judgment.

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Story summary

Harvard Fellow Christopher Dede said universities prepare students to lose to AI by emphasizing “reckoning” tests over judgment.
He argued AI will soon perform skill it can teach, making workplace tools easier to build than teaching tools, while warning the AI debate focuses on cheating prevention instead of improving learning.
He suggested AI-enabled learning and simulations let students practice judgment, and predicted non-elite universities will revamp curricula to stress judgment.