Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins/Futurism. Source: Getty Images
Lazy graduates rejoice. A new AI “homework agent” could potentially log into your account on the learning management system Canvas and automatically complete your homework and assignments for you – streamlining the laborious, outdated process of copy-pasting answers from ChatGPT.
The AI, called “Einstein,” can also participate in discussions, respond to your peers, write essays and take notes on recorded lectures on your behalf, according to its creator Companion.AI. It is claimed on its website that.
“Einstein has a complete virtual computer with a browser – anything you can do with it,” the site reads, next to a smiling photo of famed physicist Albert Einstein. “He logs in to Canvas every day, watches lectures, reads essays, writes papers, participates in discussions, and automatically submits your homework.”
Advait Paliwal, founder of Companion, described the Einstein AI tool in a do “OpenClaw as a student”, referring to the viral open source AI agent that “actually does things.” Paliwal also worked on YouLearn AI, an “AI tutor” for students, which claims to have over one million users.
The partner did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
It is not clear whether the company’s claims have any merit or not. The AI industry is full of half-baked vibe-coded projects and misleading claims. AI work may be substandard or obvious, leading to disciplinary action against users. What may appear to be autonomous may actually be heavily aided by human labor.
That said, it’s worrying that the tool exists at all, as it promises to autonomously cheat on assignments without explicitly mentioning the term. Once permission is granted, a potential client would theoretically not have to lift a finger: The partner claims that Einstein will work while you sleep, making you aware in advance of the existence of the assignment.
The Companion says, “Set him up and forget about it. Einstein checks out new assignments and completes them before the deadline.”
The site can be read like a parody, as its FAQ contains the daring question: “What if I want to do an assignment myself?” And our point in the beginning was that now you will not have to copy-paste your answers from ChatGPT? This was not our pretentiousness. “Forget about switching between ChatGPT and your[learning management software],” the company claims. “Einstein reads the assignment, solves it, and submits it.”
The term AI agent sparked a reaction on social media, especially among teachers, who have long been fighting an uphill battle against the flood of cheating enabled by AI chatbots. “Get me off this rock,” one user said. wrote On the r/Professor subreddit.
Others warned that this was just the tip of the iceberg. “A lot of people don’t yet understand how fast all these things — the good, the bad and the ugly — are going away,” says Brendan Bartenon, an associate professor of education and public policy at the University of Virginia. written on bluesky. “AI models have reached a capacity that allows basically anyone with an Internet connection to spin up working apps using ideas expressed in natural language.”
Another risk that some noted was that allowing a third-party AI tool to access a Canvas account could be a violation of an institution’s acceptable use policy.
The Einstein tool comes as the AI industry is obsessed with creating autonomous AI agents, with some companies trying to make a name for themselves by shamelessly claiming that their tools will help you choose your path in your professional and academic life. A startup launched by two Columbia University dropouts is called Clearly Glad its AI will help you “cheat in everything” and make you smarter in virtual meetings. Teachers and professors are frustrated to learn about all the latest ways to use AI to cheat, while the schools and institutions they work at often partner with big tech companies to push AI tools on their students.
More on AI: It seems as if AI has destroyed the entire college model.
