Rigor, with receipts.

Why We Exist

Higher education is in a value crisis, and generative AI is accelerating it. Instead of blaming AI, ProvenanceAI embraces it to restore meaning, trust, and curiosity in learning by illuminating the human process of learning and helping educators "see the shape of thinking."


The Problem

Generative AI is accelerating the higher-ed value crisis like greenhouse gases in a closed system. But instead of blaming AI, we've embraced it—as a tool to restore meaning, trust, and curiosity in learning.

The collapse of traditional assessment:

  • AI made output cheap
  • Learning is not output; it's distance traveled
  • Legacy systems can't capture the journey
  • Trust is eroding across all stakeholders

Our Core Belief

AI doesn't replace learning—it reshapes it. The right response is not policing outputs, but illuminating process.

This isn't a plagiarism tool. It's a reframe of how we understand learning, built for a world with AI—not in spite of it.


Design Thinking DNA: EBNA

Excellent, But Not Enough.

Inspired by Edward de Bono's EBNA principle. Built to reward progress, iteration, and momentum, not just final outputs.

In the ProvenanceAI Path, there is no such thing as an A and there is no such thing as an F. All inputs have value, and none have all the possible value. Excellence is iterative. Learning is visible when we track the distance between iterations.

Key principles:

  • Reward curiosity over compliance
  • Track effort, not just endpoints
  • Make iteration visible and valuable
  • Center human judgment with AI as partner

The Reframe

From:
Did you cheat?
How did you learn?
From:
Detecting AI use
Measuring learning distance
From:
Final output quality
Growth across the journey

ProvenanceAI measures student thinking impact, the distances their ideas travel.


Why Now

The urgency is existential:

  • Employers are already losing trust in higher ed's evaluation of students
  • AI is accelerating credibility collapse
  • Faculty are overwhelmed with grading uncertainty
  • Students are confused about expectations
  • Parents worry students aren't learning—skill erosion anxiety is real
  • The only thing AI detection software is good for is promoting shame and secrecy

Getting AI out in the open and integrated with learning is the ONLY guaranteed way to prevent cheating—or better said, it's a guaranteed way to ensure learning.


The Founder's Vision

Let's rebuild the value of education. Let's center the human—with AI as a partner, not a threat.

We're not trying to become "the LMS." We're building the missing system schools need in the AI era: process visibility and growth measurement.