The Einstein AI Tool Doesn’t Just Help with Homework. It Takes Your Role as a Student
A new open source AI tool is redefining what AI assistance in education looks like. Einstein, created by the first friend, did more than just generate homework answers. It does it for you.
According to its creators, Einstein is working on its own virtual computer. It can open a browser, check class pages, watch lecture videos, read PDFs and articles, write papers, enter complete questions and post answers to discussion boards. Once you are connected to the student account, the system can monitor deadlines and automatically submit assignments. Unlike chatbots that respond to commands, Einstein acts as a digital representation of a human learner. After setup, it can run in the background with minimal ongoing installation.
Basically, it takes your role as a student and completes the course on your behalf.
“Students are already using AI. We’re just giving them a better version,” said Companion CEO Advait Paliwal.
Read more: ‘Machines Don’t Think About You.’ How Learning is Changing in the Age of AI
How Einstein worked
Einstein integrates directly with Canvas, a popular learning management system used by many US colleges and high schools. From there, it reviews course materials and identifies assigned tasks. AI can then analyze the lecture recordings, summarize the readings and produce written work that matches the needs of the work being done.
The company says the program produces original articles with citations and context-aware discussion posts. It can also track new announcements and upcoming deadlines. Essentially, this means that a student can enroll in an online course and let Einstein handle much — if not all — of the work required.
The technology builds on advances in artificial intelligence, automated browsing and so-called autonomous agents that can take many steps on behalf of their human counterparts. While many students are already using AI tools to discuss ideas or check the grammarEinstein goes beyond help to create complete automation.
“Partners are not simple chatbots,” Paliwal said. “Each one has access to every virtual computer with a persistent file system and Internet access, so they can actually do things for you. This makes ChatGPT look like a toy.”
The cross of academic integrity?
The release of Einstein comes at a critical time when educators around the world are working to adapt and expand the use of AI in school work and learning. Since the popularity of language models such as ChatGPT and Claude, educators have debated how to distinguish legitimate help from academic dishonesty and cheating. Most policies focus on whether students use AI to help write or edit their work, or do it entirely for themselves.
Einstein complicates that discussion.
If AI comes in as a learner and completes tasks autonomously, the question shifts from utility to power. Does the tool actually replace the student?
However, not everyone in education is raising the alarm.
“I think that the teaching method of Canvas already has a proclivity to cheat. This change, I think, will be good in the end because it will force teachers to reorganize classes so that they do not rely on virtual activities,” said Nicholas DiMaggio, a PhD student at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a teaching assistant for the course on consumer behavior this quarter.
DiMaggio said this could lead institutions to emphasize hands-on work, oral exams or project-based learning instead.
Read more: How to Use AI to Get Better Grades – Without Cheating
Like DiMaggio, there is a growing group of people who believe that the current education system is not working for students, or is simply broken. And perhaps no one believes that more than Einstein’s creator.
‘Ragebaiting’ teachers into action
Arousal turns heads. That’s a lesson the 22-year-old Paliwal used to his advantage as Einstein created a lot of buzz — and outcry — last week.
While completing his engineering degree at Michigan State, Paliwal realized that his open-source “cheat tool” could not reliably complete homework, signaling to him that the future of education and careers will be automated. The current state of formal education will not survive AI.
“The last resort was to say ‘Let’s send it here, label this as a cheating tool and see the outrage,'” Paliwal said. “Because the world needs to take this seriously. The world needs to question the plans.”
As Paliwal explains, introducing Einstein was a deliberate move to stir up controversy that could lead to discussions about how best to change the way we learn and work. Some teachers have told Paliwal that he will never “sleep well” again, and Mngane is part of the downfall of society. Others were open-minded, opening opportunities to discuss solutions.
Although solutions may be years in the works, there is one remaining fact: Beyond this one tool, schools will have to decide whether to outright ban such tools, integrate them under strict guidelines or rethink how learning is measured in the age of AI.
