{"ID":2868776,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.15867","arxiv_id":"2509.15867","title":"FAIR: Framing AIs Role in Programming Competitions -- Understanding How LLMs Are Changing the Game in Competitive Programming","abstract":"This paper investigates how large language models (LLMs) are reshaping competitive programming. The field functions as an intellectual contest within computer science education and is marked by rapid iteration, real-time feedback, transparent solutions, and strict integrity norms. Prior work has evaluated LLMs performance on contest problems, but little is known about how human stakeholders -- contestants, problem setters, coaches, and platform stewards -- are adapting their workflows and contest norms under LLMs-induced shifts. At the same time, rising AI-assisted misuse and inconsistent governance expose urgent gaps in sustaining fairness and credibility. Drawing on 37 interviews spanning all four roles and a global survey of 207 contestants, as well as an API-based crawl of Codeforces contest logs (2022-2025) for quantitative analysis, we contribute: (i) an empirical account of evolving workflows, (ii) an analysis of contested fairness norms, and (iii) a chess-inspired governance approach with actionable measures -- real-time LLMs checks in online contests, peer co-monitoring and reporting, and cross-validation against offline performance -- to curb LLMs-assisted misuse while preserving fairness, transparency, and credibility.","short_abstract":"This paper investigates how large language models (LLMs) are reshaping competitive programming. The field functions as an intellectual contest within computer science education and is marked by rapid iteration, real-time feedback, transparent solutions, and strict integrity norms. Prior work has evaluated LLMs performa...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.15867","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2509.15867v2","authors":"[\"Dongyijie Primo Pan\",\"Lan Luo\",\"Ji Zhu\",\"Zhiqi Gao\",\"Xin Tong\",\"Pan Hui\"]","published":"2025-09-19T11:07:25Z","proceeding":"cs.HC","tasks":"[\"cs.HC\"]","methods":"[\"Large Language Model\",\"Language Model\"]","has_code":false}