All Chapters of The AI Shortcut: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Looking at Carly Monroe's face, flushed with excitement, I rolled my eyes inwardly.What none of them knew was that I'd ranked first in my major for three years straight and won every national scholarship available to me. Back in September, I'd already made it through multiple rounds of selection for a competitive summer program and received direct admission to graduate school at Hawthorne University, one of the country's top schools.The only reason I still spent every day at the library was to help my advisor review research from leading academic journals ahead of time—and, while I was there, help Carly study when she hadn't even managed to make sense of the GRE syllabus."Fine. I can't stand seeing any of you succeed." I looked calmly at Carly, completely unfazed. "If you really think AI can get you guaranteed admission to a top university, then take your time discussing it. I'll leave you to it."I turned toward my seat and began leisurely packing my bag."Stop! Who said you c

The next day, my classmates' insane behavior shocked the entire college.Led by Kendra, they hauled mountains of GRE prep books, practice exams, and even textbooks from all four years of college down to the dumpsters outside the dorms.Dozens of them crowded around a dumpster, set the books on fire, and burned every last one."Burn them! Burn all of it! We're practically grad students already. What do we need this garbage for?""Hahaha! Let the idiots still suffering in the library keep studying! This is what it's like to be part of the privileged class!"Carly stood right at the front, holding up a thick GRE prep book before hurling it into the flames. "Starting today, I'm never reading this crap again! Hawthorne University, here I come!"I stood beneath the trees a short distance away, silently watching the absurd spectacle.Then I took out my phone, switched to high-resolution video, and recorded every second of them burning their books, celebrating, and shouting. I saved the

I didn't go to Hawthorne University myself. I knew campus security would teach them a lesson soon enough.Instead, I asked Emily Wren, someone I knew who was already in grad school at Hawthorne, to video call me. I sat comfortably in my dorm room with a mug of hot tea, ready to enjoy the spectacle about to unfold.On the screen, barriers had been set up outside Hawthorne's graduate admissions building.The applicants who had actually been invited to interview were checking in at the entrance, showing their IDs while staff verified their names against the official interview list.Just then, a chartered bus pulled up at the curb.Kendra, Carly, and Preston led more than forty students toward the building. They marched right past the line and headed straight for the security barrier as if they owned the place."Hey! What do you think you're doing? Back up!" The security guard checking IDs immediately stopped them, frowning at the strangely dressed group trying to barge inside. "Grad

And so, an utterly surreal scene unfolded along the curb outside Hawthorne University.45 college students in black suits sat in a neat row in the chilly early-spring air, staring fixedly at their phone screens as they waited for the bank notification that would change their lives.On the other end of the video call, Emily, who was filming everything, finally couldn't hold back her laughter. Emily: [What exactly are your classmates doing out here?]I sent back a popcorn emoji. [Waiting for money to fall from the sky. And apparently waiting for their brains to start working.]Two hours passed.The cold wind left them shivering, but not a single phone received a deposit notification.Only then did the fantasy they'd been living in for months finally shatter for good. There were no GRE waivers, no special treatment, and definitely no $1.4 million.All they had left were the study materials they'd burned with their own hands, the GRE they'd chosen not to take, and the humiliating

The netizens weren't stupid, and major news outlets quickly picked up the story.Not a single person in the comments sympathized with them. The ridicule was relentless.[Am I seeing this right? These are college students? How did people this stupid even get into college?][An AI says it'll give you $1.4 million, and you believe it? If I ask an AI to declare me president, are you all going to start calling me Mr. President?][This is insane! You didn't want to put in the work, tried to take a shortcut, got played by an AI, and now you have the nerve to act like victims?][Anders Dawson is the one I feel bad for. He earned his admission to Hawthorne, and these idiots are still trying to smear him.]Then Hawthorne University released an official statement: [Hawthorne University's graduate admissions process follows all applicable admissions policies and procedures. There is no special admissions channel through which an AI system can grant GRE waivers or admission. Our investigation