GoKawiilDartmouth Provost Santiago Schnell Admits Using AI in Published Writing
Dartmouth College provost Santiago Schnell has acknowledged using AI chatbots while writing opinion pieces and academic articles, after a Semafor investigation flagged one of his Washington Post columns as 100 percent AI-generated by the Pangram detection tool. A follow-up analysis by student paper The Dartmouth found nine of his post-2022 works scored a median of 96 percent AI-written, compared to 100 percent human-written scores for his pre-ChatGPT work. Schnell maintains he retains full authorship, saying AI was used only for tasks like language refinement and copyediting.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The case highlights growing scrutiny of AI use among academics and public intellectuals, especially when the writing itself addresses AI ethics, as Schnell's flagged Washington Post column did on AI cheating in colleges. Some students are calling for his firing, suggesting the episode could raise broader questions about transparency standards for faculty and administrators who publish under their own names. The detection tool's flagging of even Schnell's defensive statement as AI-written may further undermine confidence in his account, according to the student journalists who noted the irony.
- Pangram AI-detection tool flagged one Schnell Washington Post column as 100% AI-written.
- The Dartmouth found a median 96% AI-detection score across nine of his post-ChatGPT publications.
- Schnell admits using AI tools but insists he retains full intellectual authorship of the work.
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Published there as: “Provost of Dartmouth Busted Using AI for His Own Writing in Newspapers and Academic Journals”
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