Haishan Yang, pursuing his second PhD from the US University of Minnesota, was expelled from his college for allegedly using AI to cheat in an exam. He has reportedly become the first student to be expelled from the educational institute for this reason.
Despite not denying the allegations, Yang has now sued the college, claiming the incident was a conspiracy by his professors.
Yang was on a trip to Morocco in August 2024 when he attempted a preliminary exam with three essay questions which he needed to pass before writing his thesis.
Also read: ‘Police threw me in van’: Billionaire Pankaj Oswal’s daughter on arrest in Uganda
“I think I did perfect…I was very happy,” he said in an interview with KARE.
However, a few weeks later, he was informed that he had failed the test as the university suspected he used an AI program like ChatGPT.
The professors claimed that Yang’s answers to questions “involved concepts not covered in class”. They even entered the exam questions into ChatGPT and found that certain parts matched in structure and language to Yang’s answers.
“I was struck by the similarities between the two that seemed extremely unlikely to be coincidental,” wrote Professor Peter Huckfeldt in a letter to the hearing committee.
The professors claimed that Yang used AI on another homework assignment a year ago in which one of his answers ended with a “note to self”. The note said, “Re write it (sic), make it more casual, like a foreign student writes but no ai.”
While Yang admitted using AI to check his English, he denied using it for getting his answers written. He had just received a warning from the university over the issue with the homework assignment.
Yang, on the other hand, claimed that his advisor believes that the issue with his test answers is part of a conspiracy amongst the professors. He went on to say that he also believes that to be the case.
His advisor called Yang “the best read student” he had ever encountered. “In over four decades…I never have seen this level of animosity directed at a student. I have no explanation for that animosity,” the advisor added.
Yang feels, on the other hand, that the animosity may have to do with the university cutting Yang’s financial support after claims of poor performance and disparaging behaviour about a year ago.
The university had apologised after Yang appealed the decision. It also agreed to restore his funding if he agreed not to sue.
