One More Layer

One More Layer

Paper Instruments Is Grading AI’s Homework. Who Writes the Rubric?

Ultramarine 1 Flash beat Claude Fable 5 for 13 cents. Here’s how you grade work that has no right answer.

Nitesh Kumar's avatar
Nitesh Kumar
Oct 15, 2026
∙ Paid
An essay marked with +10 checkmarks and a circled −50, next to a rubric card graded by an AI

Most of us know how a coding agent gets trained, at least at a high level. The agent writes code, you run the tests, it gets rewarded if they pass and penalized if they don’t. And the looooppp continues. This is concrete and every run has a “verifiable” result.

Now let’s try the same loop with an essay.

When we were writing essays in school, the teacher …

User's avatar

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Nitesh Kumar.

Or purchase a paid subscription.
© 2026 Nitesh Kumar · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture