In a recent article for Maclean’s, Tamar Satov explores the ethics of applicants using AI tools like ChatGPT to craft their admission essays. Satov speaks to several members of the Canadian postsecondary sector—such as Allyson Miller (Toronto Metropolitan University), Marisa Modeski (Western University), Matthew Ramsay (University of British Columbia), Rahul Kumar (Brock University), and Sarah Elaine Eaton (University of Alberta)—about their experiences with and perspectives on AI technologies. The author concludes that while AI could be used ethically to develop skills (e.g., using ChatGPT to learn about structuring an admissions essay), many believe it should not be used as a replacement for critical thinking. When a student uses AI or a hired writer to fabricate their personal statement, Satov writes that “everyone loses”: the student who may not have the traits to succeed in the program they applied to; the school because the student may not complete the program; other applicants who didn’t get in; and society “because we don’t get the best students graduating into the community.”
