AI-Written Essays – Officially the New Reality? Experts Answer Questions on the AI Hackathon

From Enthusiasm to Practical Tasks

A few days ago, on March 23, the hackathon was ceremonially launched at MES—a modern school of technology and creative industries, where I had the privilege of visiting and witnessing how the boundaries between lessons and professions are blurring. The hall buzzed with a lively, engaged atmosphere: 7th–11th graders, teachers, and even parents with sparkling eyes were signing up for teams.

"This idea resonated strongly, not just with students but also with teachers. In fact, parents expressed a desire to join: to take the course with us and create a project," shared school director Natalia Kadzhaya.

MES students are no novices. Their team recently took a prize in a federal creative industries project. Now, the school is hosting its own hackathon, where 7th–10th graders can create market-relevant projects on equal footing.

After the opening, experts addressed pressing questions. How should schools change to prepare students not just for the Unified State Exam, but for real work?

Experts—from the administration to industry partners—were unanimous: practice is essential.

Natalia Kadzhaya explained that knowledge requires a practical environment, and the hackathon allows talents to be revealed right in school.

"It's very important to guide and prompt the kids carefully, because AI must be used competently and cautiously. They need to know where and how it can be applied," the director added.

A Revolution in Education?

An employee of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation for Public Projects, Petr Koryagin, called the hackathon "a new word" in school education.

"Artificial intelligence should be a helper in realizing creative ideas. The birth of ideas itself is a mystery. Connecting technology to their implementation will only make the process more exciting," Petr Koryagin believes.

The projects will also touch on patriotism. According to him, spiritual and moral values, responsibility for one's own fate and the fate of the Fatherland, will be conveyed.

"By the finale, the teams will emerge with new knowledge, ideas, sensations, and emotions," Petr Koryagin is confident.

However, a key question remains—will AI replace creativity?

Neuro-marketer and founder of Aigency agency, Egor Apollonov, dispelled illusions on this score.

"AI is a tool. It won't make a great movie for you or create cool advertising... It all starts with an idea. And to generate one, you need to master a lot: from advertising, cinema, and marketing to dramaturgy and editing," the expert explained.

He arrived at a firm conclusion: in today's reality with such technologies, you need to know a lot, understand, and be able to do everything at once.

Moreover, according to Ekaterina Kozhanova, Director of Strategic Communications and Branding at the Eksmo-AST publishing holding, the modern editor has long become a producer.

"A book is no longer just a paper product; it's now multi-format. And the chief editor is already a producer who translates reader demand into a product," she added.

It's the schoolchildren, says Ekaterina, who are the talented people who will shape Russia's book industry in the future.

Head of the Gorky Film Studio's Film Campus, Darya Martyukhova, added that this is a time when teachers are already learning new things from students.

"Kids can really come up with something we'll use later. And it's great that they go through the path of innovative ideas together with their mentors," the expert believes.

At the end of the conference, a question arose: how to evaluate a student if they wrote an essay using a neural network, and it doesn't differ from others? Won't this hinder their success in a humanities profession in the future?

"You have to handle artificial intelligence very carefully. I think the teacher will still recognize that the essay was written by AI and ask the student to rewrite it themselves," replied Natalia Kadzhaya.

Expert Egor Apollonov believes AI creativity is quite formulaic, so spotting it won't be hard.

"Mindless use of neural networks by a child reduces their cognitive functions, and in the future, such a specialist will lose out," he added.

They concluded that you need to know how to interact with AI, but not use it blindly—rely on your own knowledge. That's what the hackathon will teach the kids. This is the model of the school of the future: collaboration, values, real tasks. I left the opening convinced: professionals are being born here. What do you think about the role of AI in education?