Ever wanted to participate in some school-sanctioned cheating?

Penn State’s Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence (CSRAI) will host its very own “Cheat-a-thon” from March 3 to April 6.

The competition highlights the benefits and drawbacks of using generative AI in academic environments. The challenge is open to all faculty and students who are at least 18 years old and who have a valid “.edu” email from a United States-based college or university.

Split into two stages, the event invites faculty and students to get engaged on how AI can be used beneficially or negatively in the classroom. Stage one spans from March 3 to March 23 and encourages university faculty to submit questions from exams, projects, or assignments that would be hard for students to answer while using generative AI. Questions can come from any subject at the undergraduate or graduate levels, and faculty are instructed to provide their ideal answer that would award students full points.

Stage two takes place from March 31 to April 6. University students will be asked to select a question submitted in stage one and answer it only with the help of AI. Students are not allowed to use other tools like libraries, search engines, or Wikipedia.

There are no limits on the number of questions and answers the faculty and students can submit. Student responses will then be compared to answers provided by faculty and graded on creativity and accuracy. The 10 students who submit the most correct answers based on the highest total grades will win cash prizes.

The two highest grades will get $1,000, the next two winners will receive $750, one third-place winner will get $500, and five students will get a $200 consolation prize.

Five $1,000 prizes will be given to faculty who submitted questions in state one that proved to be the most difficult for students. Question difficulty will be assessed by the lowest average grade received by students in state two.

For more information, folks can check out the Cheat-a-thon website.