Blue books make a comeback at colleges in the AI era. Why not "chisels," critic mocks
TL;DR
US colleges are bringing back handwritten 'blue book' exams to curb AI-generated cheating after ChatGPT's 2022 launch upended academic writing.
Key Points
- Professor Dan Melzer (UC Davis) argues educators cannot fully outsmart ChatGPT because students will always find workarounds.
- Professor Steven Krause (Eastern Michigan University) says the narrative of widespread AI cheating is largely a myth.
- Handwritten exams disadvantage certain learner groups and fail to reflect the skills modern employers actually want.
- Many companies explicitly seek graduates comfortable with AI tools — blue books test the opposite.
Nauti's Take
Blue books as a response to ChatGPT feel like typewriters as a response to the internet. The reflex is understandable but shortsighted.
Instead of asking how to keep AI out of exams, the real question is: how do you design assessments where AI confers no unfair advantage — because original thinking, source analysis, or oral defense are required? Anything less just relocates the problem.
The 'chisels' jab lands: eventually, handwriting itself will be the anachronism.
Context
Universities face a genuine dilemma: AI cheating is real, but returning to pen and paper does not solve the underlying problem. Forcing students to work without AI tools leaves them underprepared for a job market that increasingly treats AI fluency as a baseline skill. Meanwhile, reliable alternatives are scarce — AI detectors fail routinely, and oral exams do not scale.
The sector needs new assessment formats, not nostalgic reflexes.
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