A post on X (formerly Twitter) has sparked debate online after a user shared a photo from a college textbook that appeared to include an unedited ChatGPT-style response.
The image showed a section explaining
database concepts, but readers quickly noticed an unusual sentence inside the text that sounded more like an AI chatbot reply than a proper textbook paragraph.
The post sparked fresh concerns about the growing use of artificial intelligence in educational material. Many users were especially shocked because the textbook was reportedly priced at $300.
The Textbook Page Raised Eyebrows
The post was shared with the caption, “Imagine paying $300 (which is about Rs 28,000) for a college textbook and there’s a ChatGPT prompt response in there.”
The image showed a page explaining “rows” and “columns” in DBMS. However, what stood out was a line highlighted in red that read, “If you want, I can also explain columns, primary keys, or other DBMS te…” followed by, “Here is a clear and simple explanation of a Column in DBMS:”
Many users pointed out that the wording looked exactly like a response generated by ChatGPT or another AI chatbot. Several people also noticed that the sentence offering to “explain” more topics appeared to have been copied directly without proper editing.
The post, shared on May 11, has already received more than 1.1 million views and thousands of reactions online.
Users Questioned The Education System
As the image spread online, many users criticised the publishers and questioned how such an obvious mistake could make it into a printed textbook.
A user wrote, “We can’t even trust the education system anymore… wait… did we actually trust it before?”
Another commented, “The worst part is the textbook literally has ‘if you want, I can also explain…’ in there. Didn’t even edit out the offer to elaborate. $300”
Some people felt the issue was not the use of AI itself, but the careless editing. “It’s sloppy editing for sure. Is your beef, though, with the editing or with the use of generative AI?” a user asked.
Imagine paying $300 for a college textbook and there’s a fucking ChatGPT prompt response in there pic.twitter.com/Vz0jhTpDYk
— barbarism critic (@barbarismcrit) May 11, 2026
Another comment read, “Higher education is a scam. A job at the end of it is no longer guaranteed.”
A user even asked Grok whether textbooks had secretly been written using AI for years. The chatbot replied, “Not really, ‘a long time’, generative AI like ChatGPT only went public in late 2022…” while adding that publishers are now experimenting with AI-generated content in newer textbook editions.
