Caught cheating in class, college students “apologized” using AI—and profs called them out

College professors at the University of Illinois discovered widespread cheating among 100 students in a data science course and contacted them for explanations. When apologies flooded back, professors initially felt moved by the students' apparent remorse until they realized 80 percent were nearly identical and AI-generated. During class, professors displayed the matching apologies as a warning, treating it as a teaching moment rather than pursuing disciplinary action.