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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 9h

This AI written and formatted email from a UK organisation concerned with higher education policy will not do them any favours. The event booking page is just as bad. I'm always shocked that no one reads these things and realises how off the writing style is.

Three collaborative models are outlined: Commit, Build, and Lock In, emphasizing strategic partnership and long-term resource sharing.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 12h

ChatGPT text for EU users is to be watermarked within weeks. This isn’t announced for the UK or the rest of the world yet. Will this lead EU students to move to open weight models? #academicintegrity openai.com/index/eu-te...

openai.com

Our approach to EU text provenance rules

How OpenAI is approaching text watermarking under EU rules. Learn where watermarks apply, how detection works, and why access starts with researchers.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Join Mary Davis and me on Wednesday for a conversation on academic integrity in the run up to this year’s International Day of Action for Academic Integrity. The web broadcasts start at 17:00 UK time, Mary and I will be there for 17:15. AI agents like the ones who made this video might be discussed.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

No, an AI generated and formatted unsolicited email request to submit papers to your journal will not make me more likely to submit something #researchintegrity

Journal highlights include open access, no article processing charges, peer review, and global collaboration on AI in education topics.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Enjoy the day itself, the pre-event on 7 October (I’m speaking at that one) and students, do enter the academic integrity contest, there are prizes to be won.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I share this again as a reminder to educators to not evaluate the standard of GenAI output based on what was widely available a few years ago, but also as an example of how human expertise (or, in this case, observing social media trends) opens up opportunities with AI that others miss.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Claude didn’t put the ICAI logo on the video in case this wasn’t official (it isn’t), but left space for it to be added. It also relied on the creative work of others as shared on the event page. Here, I am on the event organising committee and fed into those creatives, but this is controversial.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

These were the exact two prompts used, all in minutes from my phone. Claude researched the event, determined a suitable style, analysed the programme and speakers, all barely touching my quota on the 20x Max plan (but you could do this cheaply on other plans). It defaulted to UK times.

Draft text outlines a code requirement for a 30-second animated advert promoting the International Day of Action for Academic Integrity 2026.

Text instructs to create a square cut and add appropriate audio, suggesting a focus on multimedia editing.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The advert was generated using Claude Fable 5.5 and animated entirely using code. It took two prompts. The first made a very serviceable wide version. The second (at Claude’s recommendation) generated a square social media version. I also realised I forgot to ask for sound, so this was added.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Are you looking forward to the International Day of Action for Academic Integrity on October 21 2026? Check out the full programme of live interactive online sessions and register at www.academicintegrity.org/aws/ICAI/pt.... Read on if you want to know more about the video advert I’ve shared.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I'll leave the final thoughts for educators here to a quote from the Claude educator report: In a world of capable agents the question is no longer “can a student use AI on this task?” but “what part of this task can only be evidenced by a human being in a place and time we control?"

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

All of this is largely intended as an example for my academic integrity research undergraduate class (which has moved to this upcoming term), but if anyone wants this as a webinar or keynote, let me know. I have the slides, and I know this area well so I can present it, even having not written them.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

For clarity, these posts are my human written summary of a detailed process that solved an assessment designed to be AI proof in mere minutes, with lots of supporting evidence and additional material. I used Claude Fable here as the agentic model, but ChatGPT agents (and others) are just as able.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

So, how did Claude recommend that educators improve this assessment? It gave a detailed four page report, evidenced with valid cited sources from academic integrity experts like Foltynek, Perkins, Weber-Wulff (and even me), but it all came down to requiring the student to be present.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I deliberately didn't use the original essay topic (I didn't know what it was) and I asked for various disclaimers to not misrepresent my involvement, but multi-stage assessments like this are easily solved by AI agents, with convincing process evidence included.

A disclaimer emphasizes that an AI agent generated a presentation without human editing, using a fictional student for demonstration purposes.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

With a second prompt (and 2 minutes of work), I had this turned into a 39 slide PowerPoint presentation that I could deliver to educators, in my house style, complete with screenshots of the Word document showing the edits, and with recommendations. I would edit it, but it's a good starter.

A multi-slide PowerPoint presentation covers optional learning, editing processes, feedback mechanisms, and assessment strategies for educators.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Spoiler alert, the answer is no, this is not a good assessment in 2026. I shared the image with Claude Fable, gave it a single simple prompt, and in under 5 minutes got an entire answer for a fake student, along with a detailed critique of the assessment. All on my phone, with no computer connected.

A draft argumentative essay discusses generative AI's role in education, featuring instructor comments on structure and clarity.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

These posts are prompted by this screenshot being shared online, which has prompted a lot of criticism on X, with students not understanding the purpose of the assessment, and some flat out saying they would refuse to complete it. Apologies if the educator behind this reads this, they are not alone.

Instructions for MacEwan students on using AI tools for drafting and revising essays, including citation guidelines.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

"Get AI to write your essay, mark it up and critique it, then hand in your own version". Educators are using this type of assessment with students and some promote it as good practice, but is it fit for purpose in an AI agent first world? #GenAI #academicintegrity

Crumpled paper with "2023?" sits beside stacks of papers labeled "Generate," "Critique," and "Better version," highlighting assessment challenges.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Robin and I hope to see many of you on Wednesday. For more details, see the flyer. For now, I'll leave you with ChatGPT's insight into how future poetry should be written. Predict the next word. Poetry is _______. Congratulations. You just generated text.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The team we're working with are also hoping to bring this material into schools to inspire young people, and are looking into Arts Council funding, so your involvement with this event will be of massive help to them.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

We'd love you to write some poetry too and share it with us. Don't worry if you've never written a poem before, either by hand or with AI support. We have people on hand to help you get started.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

We're offering a flexible workshop and discussion session on generative AI and poetry. We also want to find out your views on how appropriate it is to use AI to support creative fields like poetry.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Bad poetry aside, here's a unique creative opportunity for any of my London, UK based contacts. On Wednesday (23 September 2026) at 17:00, you're invited to join Robin Laspoll, other poets and a non-poet (me) on the Molly Anna canal boat in Little Venice, London. It really is a unique location.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Words drift down the canal. Some are ours.

Workshop flyer featuring Dr. Thomas Lancaster and Dr. Robin Lamboll discussing creativity and AI's role in poetry on a canal boat in London.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

To students, you might know your subject matter inside out, but slides outsourced to Fable with the standard settings are so distinctive and formulaic. By using GenAI, you removed your personality, but regardless of how academically able you are, you must add this back in. #GenAI #academicintegrity

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The long term danger of all this is we’ll just end up with an AI generated email receiving an AI generated response. I understand why others working in the higher education sector have already been forced to move in that direction. But that’s just not a future that appeals to me.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

This doesn’t mean I would ever ignore a student, regardless of their communication medium, but sometimes it really is the personal touch and interaction that gets results.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Further, dealing with these extended requests just takes time away from offering real support to all students. One student might get what they want, but it just introduces more delays for everyone else.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The level of impersonality and distance in AI written emails removes so much goodwill. The result is a move from wanting to help someone, to (perhaps unfairly) feeling if a student won’t take the time to write their own email, then why would we want to take the time to help in return?

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Now, of course, I support every student’s desire to get the best out of their education. There are times when processes and support falls short. But the problem is these long AI written emails often have the opposite effect.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Read the BBC News story “Surge in AI-assisted complaints putting extra strain on councils and schools” www.bbc.co.uk/news/articl...

bbc.co.uk

AI flooding public bodies with complaints and requests

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

AI generated complaints are becoming a real problem. BBC News today reports on the impact on schools and councils (link in first reply). We’re seeing this at university level too. What would have been a short polite email suddenly becomes an extended series of requests and demands. #GenAI

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Very sad news to awake to and find out that Jason Arday has died. Such a chain of unfortunate events, and so many places where opportunities for earlier action and support were missed. My deepest sympathies to all of Jason Arday’s family, friends, and everyone who knew him.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I have had a student do some testing and some humanisers can be detected. They do have a fingerprint like the original AI generator, just a different one, so you can change a system to detect that. What I don’t know is if the watermark will be preserved as well, which is a different indicator.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I really don’t know. They distort the statistics associated with a writing sample, but they’d still leave underlying structure. Something to test once all this is live.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

The biggest risk I foresee comes from students using Claude to rewrite their own work, where a hidden watermark will make it look like this was AI generated. None of this changes the need for students to declare AI use, or keep evidence of their writing process. AI detection may have a future yet.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

What does this mean for education? Once Anthropic releases its watermark detection technology, basic student use of Claude models is detectable. I wouldn’t expect the exact algorithm itself to be released. Yes, there are ways to remove the watermark, but they generally involve rewriting.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I stress that’s greatly oversimplified. The algorithms are much more sophisticated in practice, plus word A could have appeared by chance. But if you have several sequences like this, an algorithm can detect that a watermark is present.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

As a very oversimplified example, let’s say you have 5 words in sequence and you have to determine the 6th word. Words A, B and C would make sense. The watermarking algorithm always chooses A. If those 5 words appear in text you read, followed by A, that’s an AI use indicator.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

People think that, if you retype Claude output, the watermark will disappear, but this isn’t about alternative character sets, space combinations, or anything like that. My suspicion Claude watermarking this will work at token level.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

There are lots of types of text watermarking out there. I wrote a paper on this a few years ago and I’ve had students working on this since. The technology is advanced and it does work. My main take home is simply that people commenting on social media have no idea what an invisible watermark is.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Interesting news today that all upcoming Claude models will add hidden watermarks to text (and this functionality will be added to older models over time). OpenAI announced they could do this a while back, but there’s no evidence to say if their text is currently watermarked or not.

A page discusses AI's impact, original use, and the importance of trust, accompanied by a digital waveform graphic labeled "Claude's Hidden Signature."

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

The event is real, but parts of the familiar story were shaped by later retellings. It is a striking example of how history becomes folklore, with uncertain details hardened into fact, and shows how four playing cards remain famous 150 years later.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Hickok was playing five-card stud at Nuttal & Mann’s Saloon when Jack McCall shot him from behind. According to the legend, Hickok usually preferred a seat with his back to a wall, but could not get one that day.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

The “Dead Man’s Hand” is usually shown as A♠ A♣ 8♠ 8♣. The identity of Hickok’s fifth card is not certain. The Queen of Hearts is often suggested, but the surviving evidence does not establish it conclusively. We’ll never know for sure.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Some fascinating historical trivia today for any card players. 150 years ago today, on 2 August 1876, Wild Bill Hickok was killed while playing poker in Deadwood. The cards reportedly in his hand became one of gambling’s most famous combinations, two black Aces and two black Eights.

A lantern illuminates a wooden table with five playing cards: two black Aces, two black Eights, and a face-down card, evoking poker's history.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

You might laugh at the GTA clone description. This barely came close. But in these days when we're hearing about frontier models from Claude and OpenAI quietly hacking major systems during testing, it's worth remembering so many risks lie closer to hand. Computer security knowledge is so essential.

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Thomas Lancaster @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Why does this matter? Well, these attempts were detected, but many others will not have been. This isn't standard prompt injection (enough of a risk on its own), but instead a method of getting shell privileges. Think how dangerous this would be if used to set up criminal bot networks.

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