What I'd like to know is: when did asking students to perform tasks easy to cheat on become ok?

I find cheating reprehensible and am a conscientious objector, but when professors and teachers gave me busywork I came up with my own solution.

I didn't do it.

I got good grades in high school - never had less than a 3.4 or so at a well regarded high school - but in some classes I simply wouldn't do 50% of the work. Instead, I would go up to the teachers and say "I don't understand why you're asking me to do this."

Most of the time...possibly as a function of small class sizes...they gave me other assignments.

Students have to understand that a lot of teachers aren't sure what's best. Good ones will acknowledge that. Great ones will let you just play around with the material.