Academic Integrity Chief Used Hidden AI to Write Pro-AI Op-Ed

Cath Ellis, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Quality and Integrity at Western Sydney University, used artificial intelligence to write a Sydney Morning Herald op-ed defending AI in universities without disclosing it to the publication or readers. Ellis, appointed to oversee institutional honesty in November 2024, fed 40,000 words of her own research into Microsoft Copilot to generate the piece. The revelation underscores the gap between academic publishing standards—which increasingly require AI disclosure—and looser requirements in mainstream media opinion sections.