After taking some time off from college early in the pandemic to start a family, Moira Olmsted was eager to return to school. For months, she juggled a full-time job and a toddler to save up for a self-paced program that allowed her to learn remotely. Seven months pregnant with her second child, Olmsted enrolled in online courses at Central Methodist University in 2023, studying to become a teacher.

Just weeks into the fall semester, Olmsted submitted a written assignment in a required class—one of three reading summaries she had to do each week. Soon after, she received her grade: zero. When she approached her professor, Olmsted said she was told that an AI detection tool had determined her work was likely generated by artificial intelligence. In fact, the teacher said, her writing had been flagged at least once before.