NYU Professor Hires AI to Grill Students Like McKinsey Memos Need Interrogation
KEY POINTS
- •NYU Stern professor Panos Ipeirotis launched AI-powered oral exams to combat AI-assisted student memos.
- •The experiment ran over nine days, testing 36 students for 25 minutes each, costing about $15 in compute time.
- •AI models Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT collaboratively graded the exams, providing stricter and more consistent feedback.
In a savage 2026 plot twist, Panos Ipeirotis, NYU Stern’s data science warrior, faced students whose brilliant essays looked like McKinsey memos but flopped under real questioning. To burn AI-assisted copy-paste with its own fire, he unleashed an AI-powered oral exam using ElevenLabs’ voice tech, grilling 36 students live for 25 minutes each at a bargain $15 total compute cost — less than a Starbucks run. Grading duties fell to a council of AI models, Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT, who debated, revised, and ruled with strict fairness. Students hated it, but Panos said it shows 'how learning is supposed to work,' proving AI is both their weapon and paradoxical professor.
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NYU students got BTFO by AI oral exams for turning essays into McKinsey copycats; stress levels weaponized while a bunch of chatbots graded smarter than TAs–all for $15 total. Welcome to education’s ironic existential crisis.
Students wrote like consultants, got grilled by bots, and paid less than your last pizza delivery. Higher education truly evolving.
Using AI to catch AI-assisted cheats is like hiring a shark to babysit the goldfish. Spoiler: goldfish lost.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 1/5/2026 | Author: Lee Chong Ming
