Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 1d

ICYMI: University of Waterloo has discontinued use of Turnitin's AI detector.

"Given the expense of the tool in U.S. dollars, unreliability, and bias, it was determined the costs associated with Turnitin’s AI detection feature outweigh the benefits."

uwaterloo.ca/associate-vi...

Discontinuing use of AI detection functionality in Turnitin - September 2025 | Associate Vice-President, Academic | University of Waterloo

Information for instructors about Waterloo's decision to discontinue use of Turnitin, the AI detection tool as of September 2025.

uwaterloo.ca

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 1d

Google Docs history is no longer valid for attempting to detect use of AI. Time to end this harmful practice.

Anthony Moser @anthonymoser.com · 1d

google wants to introduce errors into my spreadsheets and attribute them to me

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 1d

It has been 1,860 days since Proctorio sued me. Every day is felt.

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 1d

The National League for Nursing is discontinuing the use of Proctorio on October 31st. Perhaps they don't like doing business with litigious bullies.

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 5d

I don't want to work. I want to make my Lego Game Boy.

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 13d

UBC failed to meet FOI response timelines in 90% of requests, audit finds.

“This report is a cautionary tale for all public bodies about what can happen when they treat transparency as secondary rather than fundamental to their core mission", said the Information and Privacy Commissioner of BC.

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC @oipcbc.bsky.social · 13d

Overview of the Audit Report: The University of British Columbia's duty to assist.
Full overview: www.oipc.bc.ca/documents/in...

Cover of Overview of the Audit Report: The University of British Columbia's duty to assist. Link to overview is in the post.

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 13d

Earlier this month, Temple University published new Proctorio documentation confirming that Proctorio still tracks head and eye movement in 2025.

Recording this as evidence of five years of harm.

foxonline.temple.edu/wp-content/u...

Screenshot of Proctorio from Temple University website. Interface showing 'Environmental Abnormalities' with two monitoring indicators: 'Audio Levels' represented by a speaker icon and sound bars, and 'Head and Eye Movement' represented by a head silhouette with arrows indicating movement. A note below states: 'Abnormal head movement will highlight test takers...

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 14d

If you liked me when I called out Google, don't be surprised when I call out Microsoft.

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 14d

BC's Information and Privacy Commissioner said biometrics were used in combination with location data to "create elaborate inferences about who the users were, about things like what their spending power was and use that, to then decide what content, including advertising, to feed back to them."

Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 14d

CBC reports that TikTok has been collecting sensitive information from hundreds of thousands of Canadians under 13 years old. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Privacy commissioners find TikTok collected sensitive data from Canadian children | CBC News

The immensely popular social media app TikTok has been collecting sensitive information from hundreds of thousands of Canadians under 13 years old, a joint investigation by privacy authorities found.

www.cbc.ca

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 15d

Happy Right to Know Week! Celebrate your right to know by accessing over 500 Privacy Impact Assessments acquired via FOI at privacylibrary.ca.

www.oic-ci.gc.ca/en/right-know

Right to know

Canada marks Right to Know WeekIn 2025, Right to Know Week will be celebrated during the week of September 22 to 28.

www.oic-ci.gc.ca

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 15d

Four Canadian Privacy Commissioners investigated TikTok and found that the measures in place to keep children off the platform and prevent the collection and use of their sensitive personal information for profiling and targeting purposes were inadequate.

Full report: www.oipc.bc.ca/documents/in...

www.oipc.bc.ca

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 18d

They put in the newspaper that I got mad.

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 20d

Librarians Are Being Asked to Find AI-Hallucinated Books www.404media.co/librarians-a...

Librarians Are Being Asked to Find AI-Hallucinated Books

It’s a trippy time to have a library card.

www.404media.co

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 20d

Ian Linkletter, a librarian at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, told the Washington Post that “Google is undermining academic integrity by shoving AI in students’ faces during exams.”

www.thedailybeast.com/google-chrom...

Google Chrome Removes ‘Homework Help’ Button After Backlash From Teachers

Educators complained the browser extension was “forcing AI into places it doesn’t belong.”

www.thedailybeast.com

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Reposted by Ian Linkletter

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 20d

“Chrome’s cheating tool exemplifies Big Tech’s continuing gold rush approach to AI: launch first, consider consequences later and let society clean up the mess.”

Column | Teachers got mad about a cheat button in Chrome. Now Google’s pausing it.

Google quietly added a “homework help” button to the world’s most-used web browser. Educators say it makes cheating too easy.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 20d

“Google is undermining academic integrity by shoving AI in students’ faces during exams, Google is trying to make instructors give up on regulating AI in their classroom, and it might work. Chrome has the market share to change student behavior, and it appears this is the goal.” wapo.st/47OPRzL

“Google is undermining academic integrity by shoving AI in students’ faces during exams,” says Ian Linkletter, a librarian at the British Columbia Institute of Technology who first flagged the issue to me. “Google is trying to make instructors give up on regulating AI in their classroom, and it might work. Google Chrome has the market share to change student behavior, and it appears this is the goal.”

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 20d

Google backtracked after I tipped the Washington Post to how they were pushing AI functionality during exams. wapo.st/47OPRzL

Column | Teachers got mad about a cheat button in Chrome. Now Google’s pausing it.

Google quietly added a “homework help” button to the world’s most-used web browser. Educators say it makes cheating too easy.

wapo.st

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 20d

Google blinked.

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Reposted by Ian Linkletter

Brenna Clarke Gray @brennacgray.bsky.social · 21d

It has always been bad, but if you’ve been on the fence, this is a great reason to delete your academia.edu account.

Ordinary Notes @hystericalblkns.bsky.social · 21d

If you’re on academia dot edu, let me suggest that you strongly consider deleting your account.

The new TOC from academia dot edu.

By creating an Account with Academia.edu, you grant us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license, permission, and consent for Academia.edu to use your Member Content and your personal information (including, but not limited to, your name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness, city, institutional affiliations, citations, mentions, publications, and areas of interest) in any manner, including for the purpose of advertising, selling, or soliciting the use or purchase of Academia.edu's Services.

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 21d

I have personally tested this and the Homework Help link is now appearing everywhere in Canvas *except* Quizzes.

The relevant flag in Google Chrome is "Lens Overlay EDU action chip" but as you can see, the "triggering criteria" targeting every LMS is not explained. Is it based on contents or URL?

A Google Chrome "Experiments" page (chrome://flags) showing the search result for "Lens Overlay EDU." The highlighted experiment is titled "Lens Overlay EDU action chip" with a description: "Enables Lens Overlay EDU action chip. Intended for testing the chip itself, not its triggering criteria. – Mac, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS." The status dropdown on the right is set to "Default". The Chrome version shown is 140.0.7339.133.

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 22d

Is it gone? I heard it is.

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 22d

I've seen a report that Google has withdrawn this functionality. Can anyone confirm in Canvas? If Google blinked on this, that's huge.

Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 24d

Google recently updated Chrome to detect when you are taking an LMS quiz and offer "Homework Help" in the address bar. Students are encouraged to upload screenshots of their quiz to Google Lens to get answers.

Panic is spreading. Increased surveillance is coming. We can stop it. Watch me. Join me.

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 23d

Has your institution warned faculty about Google Chrome's new "Homework Help" feature? These ones have.

UC Berkeley: rtl.berkeley.edu/news/google-...
Lesley University: support.lesley.edu/support/solu...
University of Alabama: cit.ua.edu/known-issue-...
UCLA: humtech.ucla.edu/alert/alert-...

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Ian Linkletter @linkletter.org · 24d

Google recently updated Chrome to detect when you are taking an LMS quiz and offer "Homework Help" in the address bar. Students are encouraged to upload screenshots of their quiz to Google Lens to get answers.

Panic is spreading. Increased surveillance is coming. We can stop it. Watch me. Join me.

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