Deming Backs More AI Use, AI-Proof Assessments in Harvard Classrooms

News Deming Backs More AI Use, AI-Proof Assessments in Harvard Classrooms Harvard College Dean David J. Deming speaks at an open forum in January. Deming wrote Wednesday that he favors encouraging AI use where it can deepen learning while placing greater emphasis on assessments where AI cannot be used. | By Finn R. Berard By Sebastian B. Connolly and Summer E. Rose , Crimson Staff Writers Harvard College Dean David J. Deming wrote that he favored “actively encouraging AI usage where it can deepen learning,” while placing a greater emphasis on assignments where AI could not be used, in a Wednesday morning email to students. In the email, written to mark the first day of classes, Deming announced that he would use this year to develop a set of advisory guidelines for the use of AI in Harvard classrooms and offered “initial thoughts” on what he believed those may look like — including shifting away from take-home examinations and problem sets toward proctored exams. “Take-home exams and problem sets are no longer a sustainable way to assess mastery, and when coupled with unenforceable AI bans they create a difficult dilemma for students who don’t want to cheat but also fear falling behind to their classmates,” he wrote, comparing restraints on AI use in assessments to Odysseus binding himself to the mast of his ship to avoid temptation. Deming also suggested the “acceptance, or even encouragement” of AI in writing-based courses — rather than increasing efforts to detect the use of the technology. “A different approach is needed for papers and other assignments that are too meaty to fit within a proctored exam window. Here I would modestly suggest AI acceptance, or even encouragement,” he wrote. “We would all benefit from getting out of the AI-detection business because it damages trust between faculty and students.” Deming offered a lengthier critique of AI detection in a post to his Substack less than 10 minutes later, describing AI writing and detection tools as “trapped like Alice and the Red Queen in a race that will leave us running ever faster just to keep up.” In Wednesday’s email, Deming indicated a desire to shift from gathering information on AI to acting to respond to its use. Advertisement “This year I believe we must act,” he wrote. Get The Crimson in your inbox. Sign up But he also wrote that the ideas offered in his email should be seen as initial thoughts, rather than “statements of policy” — and that developing a set of guidelines would require “extensive consultation” with faculty, staff and students. “This is a fast-moving landscape and no one has all the answers,” Deming wrote. The Bok Center for Teaching and Learning had already released guidance to faculty this summer on how to adapt their courses to the rising use of AI by students, including several suggestions mirroring those in Deming’s email, such as placing a greater weight on in-person assessments. While Deming had made AI a priority in his first year as dean last year, he had consistently stopped short of endorsing a blanket policy towards the technology, citing the need for different courses to approach its use differently. In remarks at an April open forum , Deming drew a comparison between CS50, a large introductory computer science course, and a hypothetical small English seminar, to highlight how different courses can have different goals and applications for the technology. “The way you’d use AI in CS50 versus an upper-level English seminar — why would you want the same guardrails and guidelines for those two classes?” Deming said in April. Advertisement Deming also made the technology a focus of his remarks at Tuesday’s Convocation ceremony, arguing that the rise of AI would lead to a new era in higher education requiring universities to focus less on imparting expertise and more on creating communities for students to learn together. Deming returned to the theme of community in Wednesday’s email, calling it a “guiding purpose” for Harvard — and a way to respond to both technological advancement and a decline in trust in experts. “How do we adapt to a world where technology makes knowledge more accessible than ever, and trust in experts is in decline? I believe that one answer is to invest more deeply in Harvard College as a learning community,” Deming wrote. The College has planned a number of new initiatives this year aimed at increasing opportunities to connect, Deming wrote in his email, including dining hall meal swipes for faculty and staff and more social events throughout the fall. —Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at sbc.23. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784 . —Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ser.85. Follow her on X @summerellenrose . Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter Have a tip for The Crimson? Share it confidentially Share See more on: College Administration , College Life