New AI Tool Einstein Logs Into Canvas to Complete Students' Homework Automatically

This AI Tool Doesn't Help With Homework. It Does It for You

Macy has been working for CNET for coming on 2 years. Prior to CNET, Macy received a North Carolina College Media Association award in sports writing. A new AI tool called Einstein is pushing the boundaries of what automation in education looks like. Created by the startup Companion, Einstein does more than generate answers to homework questions. It logs directly into a student's Canvas account and completes coursework on the student's behalf. According to its creators, Einstein operates through its own virtual computer. It can open a browser, navigate class pages, watch lecture videos, read PDFs and essays, write papers, complete quizzes and post replies in discussion boards. Once connected to a student's account, the system can monitor deadlines and automatically submit assignments. Unlike chatbots that respond when prompted, Einstein functions more like a digital stand-in for a human student. After setup, it can run in the background with little ongoing input. "Students are already using AI. We're just giving them a better version of it," Companion CEO Advait Paliwal said in a statement. Read more: 'Machines Can't Think for You.' How Learning Is Changing in the Age of AI Einstein connects to Canvas, a widely used learning-management system in colleges and high schools. From there, it reviews course materials and identifies assigned tasks. The AI can analyze lecture recordings, summarize readings and generate written work that matches the assignment requirements. The company says the system produces original essays with citations and context-aware discussion posts. It can also track new announcements and upcoming deadlines. In practice, this means a student could enroll in an online course and let Einstein handle much -- if not all -- of the required work. The technology builds on advances in generative AI, browser automation and so-called autonomous agents that can take multistep actions on behalf of their human counterpart. While many students already use AI tools to brainstorm ideas or check grammar, Einstein moves beyond assistance into complete automation. "Our companions aren't simple chatbots," Paliwal said. "Each one has access to an entire virtual computer with a persistent file system and internet access, so they can actually do things on your behalf. This makes ChatGPT look like a toy." The release of Einstein comes at a time when schools are still adapting to widespread AI use. Since the arrival of powerful language models, educators have debated how to distinguish legitimate support from academic dishonesty. Most policies focus on whether students are using AI to help draft or edit their work, or do it entirely for them. Einstein complicates that conversation. If an AI logs in as a student and completes assignments independently, the question shifts from assistance to substitution. Is the tool essentially taking the student's place? Not all in education are sounding the alarm, though. "I think the Canvas method of teaching already has a proclivity for cheating. This change, I think, will ultimately be good because it will force educators to redesign classes to not rely on virtual assignments," said Nicholas DiMaggio, a PhD student at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and teaching assistant for a course in consumer behavior this quarter. DiMaggio said that this may prompt institutions to emphasize in-person work, oral exams or project-based learning instead. Beyond this one tool, schools will have to decide whether to ban such tools outright, integrate them under strict guidelines or rethink how learning is measured in the age of AI.

New AI Agent Logs Directly Into College Platform Canvas to Do Your Homework for You

If you thought if using AI to cheat couldn't get any easier, think again. Lazy undergrads rejoice. A new AI "homework agent" can supposedly log into your account on the learning management system Canvas and automatically complete your homework and assignments for you -- streamlining the laborious, outdated process of having to copy-paste answers from ChatGPT. Called "Einstein," the AI can even participate in discussions, reply to your peers, write essays, and take notes on recorded lectures on your behalf, its maker Companion.AI claims on its website. "Einstein has a full virtual computer with a browser -- anything you can do, he can do," the site reads, next to the smiling visage of the famed physicist Albert Einstein. "He logs into Canvas every day, watches lectures, reads essays, writes papers, participates in discussions, and submits your homework -- automatically." Companion's founder, Advait Paliwal, described the Einstein AI tool in a tweet as "OpenClaw as a student," referring to the viral open source AI agent that "actually does things." Paliwal also worked on YouLearn AI, an "AI tutor" for students that claims to have over a million users. Companion didn't respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. It's unclear if the company's boasts hold water. The AI industry is fraught with half-baked vibe-coded projects and deceptive claims. The AI's work may be shoddy or obvious, opening up users to disciplinary action. What may appear to be autonomous may actually be heavily assisted by a bedrock of human labor. That said, it's alarming that the tool exists at all, as it explicitly promises to autonomously cheat on assignments without ever mentioning the word. Once given permission, a prospective customer theoretically won't have to lift a finger: Companion claims that Einstein will work while you sleep, pre-empting you having to be even cognizant of an assignment's existence. "Set him up and forget about it. Einstein checks for new assignments and knocks them out before the deadline," Companion says. The site can read like a parody, as when its FAQ features the daring question: "What if I want to do an assignment myself?" And our bit at the beginning about no longer having to copy-paste your answers from ChatGPT? That wasn't us being facetious. "Forget switching between ChatGPT and your [learning management software]," the company boasts. "Einstein reads the assignment, solves it, and submits it directly." Word of the AI agent sparked backlash on social media, especially among educators, who have long been fighting an uphill battle against the flood of cheating enabled by AI chatbots. "Get me off this rock," a user wrote on the r/Professor subreddit. Others warned this was just the tip of the iceberg. "What many don't yet grasp is just how quickly all of these things -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- are coming down the line," Brendan Bartanen, an associate professor of education and public policy at the University of Virginia, wrote on Bluesky. "AI models have reached capability that allows for basically anyone with an internet connection to spin up functioning apps using just ideas expressed in natural language." Another risk some noted was that allowing a third-party AI tool to access a Canvas account could violate an institution's acceptable use policy. The Einstein tool comes as the AI industry's obsession over building autonomous AI agents has seen some companies try make a name for themselves by unashamedly bragging that their tools will help you con your way through your professional and academic life. A startup launched by two Columbia University dropouts called Cluely gloats that its AI will help you "cheat on everything" and make you come across smarter in virtual meetings. Teachers and professors are hopeless to keep up with all the latest ways AI can be used for cheating, while the schools and institutions they work for often form partnerships with big tech companies to push AI tools on their students.