From Policing to Capability: A UK/US Conceptual Note on Generative AI, Professional Judgement, and Assessment

This Zenodo deposit preserves a short UK/US conceptual note on assessment under generative AI conditions. Drawing on two classroom vignettes from the University of Chester (UK) and Houston City College (USA), Firr and Terral argue that the most durable response to AI-mediated ambiguity is not stronger policing but stronger capability. The note describes a practical “capability over policing” stance that treats concerns about AI use as a prompt for process visibility and accountable explanation rather than as a trigger for accusation or reliance on detector outputs. It situates everyday assessment decisions as professional sensemaking under uncertainty, and outlines simple routines that keep standards defensible while avoiding surveillance-first cultures (e.g., short structured conversations, AI use logs, prompt records, and targeted follow-up tasks). The aim is to re-centre evidence of understanding as the core integrity signal, while acknowledging limitations in authorship certainty and documented concerns about detector reliability and fairness.