A classroom assignment at Alcorn State University, a Mississippi HBCU, has sparked a national conversation about artificial intelligence after a history professor revealed that dozens of students unknowingly exposed their reliance on AI-generated work. Students who copied the prompt directly into an AI chatbot and submitted the generated response without reviewing it inadvertently included the hidden word in their essays. Instead, Gibson said the assignment illustrated a simple point: students remain responsible for the work they submit, even when AI is involved. Alcorn State is investing heavily in AIThe incident comes at a time when Alcorn State has become one of the most aggressive HBCUs in embracing artificial intelligence as part of its academic mission. The university is investing heavily in artificial intelligence while reminding students that no technology can replace careful thinking, sound judgment and personal accountability.