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"Goel plans to use Jill again in a class this fall, but will likely change its name so students have the challenge of guessing which teaching assistant isn't human."

This will be a fantastic Turing test, at least as far as basic question understanding and natural response formation.

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Hmm, does it count to use things that are not so much to do with the course?

For example, if a guy is able to answer questions at all times of day, really fast, they're either an AI or Jon Skeet.

Also, real TAs have a life outside of the course. What will an AI say when you ask them whether they enjoyed last night's episode of Game of Thrones?

The software worked remarkably well in this instance because the system was well constrained, and the students weren't on the lookout for it. If they do start quizzing their new unseen TA (Dr Colin V Olutionalnet) on random trivia it could presumably deflect the query or have a few canards pre-programmed.

But likewise, if I were a TA for that course I'd probably try to act like a bot just to confuse the students.

"I am very busy, please stick to the course material."

I wonder if the professor has it configured to learn from the student's questions? Will the bot turn into a promiscuous neo-nazi a week into the class?

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