Adding to the controversy surrounding Florida's proposed science standards, the Miami Herald (October 28, 2026; subscription required) charges, "The standards also appear to have been partially written by AI. About 32%, or 37,000 words, of the 110,000 word standards were identified as written by AI, according to Pangram," software that purports to detect AI content.
"If AI was used in the writing of the proposed standards, it would be ironic, since Governor DeSantis recently declared, 'Florida will not outsource childhood to a chatbot.' It would also highlight the limitations of AI, since the proposed standards, if adopted, would be the worst science standards in the country by far," NCSE's Glenn Branch told the Herald.
Also discussed in the Herald's article was Florida Education Commissioner Henry Mack's use of AI in his official communications. While a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education "did not directly dispute" the article's allegations with regard to Mack's use of AI, he disputed its allegations with regard to the proposed science standards.
