Hebrew University Professor Requires Students to Prove Human Effort in AI Assignments

Associate Professor Claudia V. Goldman does not accept homework that a computer wrote for the student. Since joining the Hebrew University Business School in Jerusalem in July 2024, she has enforced strict protocols for artificial intelligence use in her data science department.

Goldman, who holds 24 patents, tells her students exactly when they may use AI tools. She requires them to credit the technology and explain its specific role in their work. If a response is fully generated by AI, she rejects it. Students know she can detect the technology in their writing.

Her approach prioritizes critical thinking over passive consumption. She encourages students to brainstorm with AI but requires them to check for bias and verify that cited sources actually exist. This ensures the human remains in charge of the final output.

To verify understanding, Goldman relies on in-person assessments. Her grading includes classwork, presentations, and peer-organized activities. These formats allow her to evaluate how students explain their logic directly to the class.

Her background spans academia and industry. She moved from Argentina to Israel in January 1984 and earned three degrees at the Hebrew University. Before returning to teaching, she worked in industry for 18 years. She served as a team leader at Samsung Telecom Research in Herzliya and spent 15 years as a research scientist at General Motors. At GM, she worked on learning agents for vehicle user experiences.

Goldman also addresses the wider impact of automation. She responded to Bill Gates's proposal for a 'Human Reserved' concept, which would limit AI in certain jobs. She argued the issue is not a simple binary. Instead, she focuses on understanding the benefits of AI in different contexts and the critical skills needed to strengthen human roles.

The Business School now offers courses titled AI for Social Good, Responsible AI, and When AI Meets Humans and Society. The university also runs a Free Listener Program that allows senior citizens to audit these classes. The fall semester is currently underway.

Goldman is the daughter of Argentine-born parents. Her grandparents emigrated to South America before the Holocaust. She attended a Jewish school in Buenos Aires where she studied in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Spanish. She told her father in 1983 that Israel was the only place she could see herself growing up. The family made aliyah six months later. She met her husband, Professor Roy Shenhar, on campus stairs in 1995. They married in 1999.