‘Talk with actual humans…': IIM Ahmedabad student scores A+ using ChatGPT for project, shares note on ‘real creativity'

An MBA student from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad has stirred up debate online after revealing that he used ChatGPT to complete an entire marketing project — and still received an A+.
In a now-viral LinkedIn post, student Yugantar Gupta shared that he relied entirely on the AI tool to write his project. He wrote, 'MBA at IIM Ahmedabad is full of assignments, projects and reports. Plagiarism is completely prohibited but AI use is allowed. Getting an A+ on any report is really difficult at IIM Ahmedabad. Some professors don't give it to anyone at all, as a policy. Most restrict it to the top 5% or fewer. While meaningless, an A+ always feels like a medal.'
He further noted, 'We had to prepare a research project on cosmetics. So I went to a nearby mall and visited every cosmetics shop there. From Lifestyle to Forest Essentials to Smytten - around 8 shops in all. I discreetly observed shopper behaviour - what kinds of customers came, what kinds of questions they asked, what they actually ended up buying. I chatted up the sales people asking them for gift recommendations for my (imaginary) girlfriend. And what they had observed over the months. For every observation and every interaction, I sent myself a voice note. In excruciating detail.'
On getting back to campus, he explained to ChatGPT our project requirements and uploaded the entire audio transcript. 'And out came one of my best graded projects at IIM Ahmedabad (after a lot of heavy editing of course),' he added.
IIM Student noted, 'No one is going to pay you anything anymore for researching or writing reports off the internet. ChatGPT can already do far better quality secondary research than most of you can. At zero cost and in zero time.'
You can only add value if you can get something that's not available on the internet - personal experiences, expert interviews, original surveys, observational studies and talking to stakeholders, he added.
'Don't waste time on writing, spend time on reviewing what AI is writing for you. Don't waste time in artificially 'humanising' AI content to avoid detection filters. Talk with actual humans whose opinion matters. Don't keep discussing amongst yourselves. Cold DM people on LinkedIn and interview them,' he further said in the LinkedIn post.
By the time of writing, the post has garnered 3,369 likes, 141 comments, and 55 reposts.
In the comments, IPS Yogesh Gupta said, "What a powerful write up. Extremely well articulated and based on first hand experience. Your posts are a treat to read, always positive. Welcome the new developments, technology and use it to improve your life but don't forget the basics. ' Get out of the Building ' explains it all. This is the crux of the modern policing methods too."
Another said, 'This post so very well brings out how the new emerging and ever evolving technologies can be used productively without giving up on originality and creativity. If Artificial Intelligence is used intelligently and ethically it can revolutionise the quality and pace of research for bettering human lives.' User commented to the viral LinkedIn post.
A user commented, "And that is how humans and AI can be complementary."
A user said, 'Yugantar Gupta: you did a wonderful observational study and used AI as a writing assistance. Researchers are widely using this assistance. Many good journals are also not preventing the AI as a writing tool. But one should apply own brain to see that AI does not present misleading results.'
Key Takeaways AI can significantly enhance research and writing tasks when used alongside personal insights.
Engaging directly with people provides valuable data that AI cannot replicate.
The future of academic work may involve a blend of AI tools and original human research.

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