AI Detectors Incentivize Defensive Student AI Use

Writing instructor Dadland Maye documents in the Chronicle of Higher Education how AI-detection tools have flagged legitimate student work and driven defensive AI adoption. He cites examples—an essay flagged for using "devoid", students using Google Gemini to learn detector triggers—and frames the problem as a "Cobra Effect" that discourages fluency. The dynamic pressures students to simplify language and acquire AI fluency to avoid false accusations.