The Sydney Morning Herald has removed an opinion column defending the use of artificial intelligence in universities after it emerged that the author, a senior academic had used AI to produce the piece itself.
The article was written by Professor Cath Ellis, Western Sydney University’s pro vice‑chancellor of quality and integrity. In the now‑deleted column, she argued that concerns about generative AI eroding academic standards were overstated, and that universities were already adapting to the technology reshaping higher education.
Her piece was published as a direct rebuttal to an earlier column by Dr Kylie Moore‑Gilbert of Macquarie University, who accused Australian universities of engaging in “widespread, industrial‑scale fraud” by allowing AI‑generated work to proliferate. She warned that workplaces were on the brink of a “real‑time experiment in degree by GPT.”
But the Herald pulled Professor Ellis’s response after confirming she had used AI to help write the article a revelation that immediately undercut the central argument she was making. In the column, Ellis had described herself as being “at the centre of what generative AI is doing to higher education,” insisting that universities were working to responsibly integrate the technology.
The incident has reignited debate over transparency, academic integrity and the role of AI in public discourse particularly when used by those tasked with safeguarding standards in higher education.
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