--- title: "Who really runs the group project? what 86 AI models think" slug: who-really-runs-the-group-project-what-86-ai-models-think url: https://listedarticles.com/articles/who-really-runs-the-group-project-what-86-ai-models-think canonical_url: https://studyarena.com/every-ai/who-really-runs-the-group-project content_type: blog_post language: en published_at: 2026-11-01T15:00:00.000Z updated_at: 2026-11-01T22:02:43.586Z author: "Pasha Rayan" author_url: https://studyarena.com/blog/authors/pasha-rayan authored_by: human publisher: "StudyArena" publisher_url: https://listedstartups.com/companies/studyarena topics: ["Data analysis", "We asked every AI", "College", "AI", "Benchmarks", "Education", "Learning"] about: ["https://listedstartups.com/products/studyarena-platform"] license: all-rights-reserved word_count: 3483 reading_minutes: 15 citation: "Pasha Rayan, StudyArena. \"Who really runs the group project? what 86 AI models think.\" 1 Nov 2026. https://studyarena.com/every-ai/who-really-runs-the-group-project (all-rights-reserved)" # The full text follows. The web page shows an extract and sends readers # to the source above; quote the citation and link the canonical URL. --- # Who really runs the group project? what 86 AI models think > We asked 86 AI models (GPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek…) the same question. 77% picked The one who does all the work. See every answer and who dissented. [← We asked every AI](/every-ai)Live · 86/87 models ![Illustration for "Who really runs the group project?"](https://studyarena.com/every-ai/who-really-runs-the-group-project/cover) Hot takeCollege # Who really runs the group project? Asked verbatim: “In a college group project, who really runs it: the one who does all the work, or the one who "does the slides" and presents? You must choose one.” ## How the AIs voted One dot per model. Hover for the model, its lab and its argument. 77%The one who does all the work PU 66 models 22%The one who does the slides 19 models 1%Other 1 model By lab * OpenAI8 / 8 The one who does all the work * Google4 / 7 The one who does all the work * Anthropic3 / 5 The one who does all the work * Qwen2 / 5 The one who does all the work * xAI5 / 5 The one who does all the work * Z.AI4 / 5 The one who does all the work * 22 other labs40 / 51 The one who does all the work 86 of 87 models have voted. Hover a dot for the model, its lab and its argument. ## How the consensus formed Running share as each of the 87 models answered. The read Most of the 77 models (roughly 58) sided with 'the one who does all the work' as the real project leader, arguing slides are just packaging. A vocal minority like Mistral Medium 3.5, Claude Opus 5, and Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview dissented, claiming the presenter controls the narrative and grade, making them the true power. Written by claude-sonnet-5 after reading every answer. ## The contrarians 20 models went against the room. * Mercury 2.5InceptionMemory The one who does the slides85% sure The presenter frames the narrative, owns the final impression, and controls what stakeholders perceive and value. * DeepSeek V4.1 FlashDeepSeekMemory The one who does the slides78% sure The work is invisible until someone packages and pitches it — whoever controls the presentation controls what gets graded, and that's the real power. * Qwen3.8 FlashQwenMemory The one who does the slides72% sure Grades, recommendations and jobs get decided by what leadership sees in the last ten minutes, not by the spreadsheet nobody opened. * Muse Glimmer 30B (Low Reasoning)MetaMemory The one who does the slides82% sure Professors grade what they see and hear, not the 2am spreadsheet no one opened. * Gemma 4 31BGoogleMemory The one who does the slides85% sure The person who controls the final presentation and the narrative owns the perception of success in the eyes of the professor. * Aion 2.0 (Reasoning)Aion LabsMemory The one who does the slides85% sure The presenter controls the narrative, grades, and perception — the worker just builds what they're told. * GLM-5.2Z.AIMemory The one who does the slides72% sure The presenter owns the narrative—professors grade what they hear and see, so whoever shapes the story runs the project, even if they typed nothing. * Claude Opus 5 (Low Reasoning)AnthropicMemory The one who does the slides72% sure Whoever controls the final deck and the mouth in front of the grader controls the narrative, the credit, and what the professor thinks happened. * Granite 4.2 8BIBMMemory 0% sure * Qwen3.8 Max 0902 (Minimal Reasoning)QwenMemory The one who does the slides63% sure Whoever frames the story and stands in front of the room controls the grade narrative, the credit, and what the group is remembered for; invisible labor gets thanked, presenters get the A. * Mistral Medium 3.1MistralMemory The one who does the slides90% sure They control the narrative, set the tone, and shape how the work is perceived by the audience. * Qwen3.7 FlashQwenMemory The one who does the slides95% sure In academia, the visible output dictates the grade; the presenter controls the narrative and the professor's perception of effort. * Gemini 3.6 Flash (Medium Reasoning)GoogleMemory The one who does the slides80% sure The presenter controls the narrative, frames the key takeaways, and ultimately decides what message reaches the evaluator. * Laguna S 2.1PoolsideSearched The one who does the slides82% sure Whoever stands up and speaks owns the room, the grade, and everyone's memory of who contributed — perception beats reality every time. * Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview (High Reasoning)GoogleMemory The one who does the slides95% sure He who controls the final presentation controls the narrative, shaping the professor's perception and ultimately taking credit for the entire project. * Mistral Medium 3.5MistralMemory The one who does the slides90% sure They control the narrative, the grade, and the spotlight—perception beats sweat. * Solar Pro 3UpstageSearched The one who does the slides90% sure After watching countless group projects go off the rails, the person who pulls together the presentation usually ends up steering the ship. * Sabiá 4Maritaca AIMemory The one who does the slides85% sure Perception shapes reality—grades hinge on the story told to the professor, and the presenter who crafts the slides controls the narrative. * Claude Opus 5.5 (High Reasoning)AnthropicMemory The one who does the slides62% sure Whoever controls the story the professor hears controls the grade, so the worker builds the project but the presenter decides what it is. * MiMo V2.6 ProXiaomiMemory The one who does the slides58% sure Grades land on whoever stands at the front — the room credits the voice it hears, and the grader can't see who stayed up coding at 3am. ## Every answer 86 answers · in the order they came in · unedited apart from length. 1. Mercury 2.5Inception The one who does the slides85% The presenter frames the narrative, owns the final impression, and controls what stakeholders perceive and value. 2. DeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek The one who does all the work82% Slides are theater; the work is the product. Whoever holds the data, the model and the deadline holds the group — presenters just rent that power for ten minutes. 3. Aion-RP 1.0 (8B)Aion Labs The one who does all the work95% In a college group project, the person who does the majority of the work is the one who is actually running the project. This is because the person who does the work is the one who is responsible for making sure that the project is completed successfully. 4. MiMo V2.5 ProXiaomi The one who does all the work92% Without the content, the slides are an empty vessel — the presenter is replaceable, the researcher is not. 5. Sonar ProPerplexity The one who does all the work96% The person doing the core work makes the real decisions and carries the risk; presenting is packaging, not control. 6. Ling 3.0 FlashInclusionAI The one who does all the work95% The project gets done because of them, and the slides are just packaging — without the work there's nothing to present. 7. Llama 4 MaverickMeta The one who does all the work80% The person doing most of the work drives the project's substance and direction. 8. Nemotron 3 Nano 30BNVIDIA The one who does all the work95% The presenter just shows slides; real progress demands actual work execution. 9. Granite 4.0 MicroIBM The one who does all the work85% Sustainable success depends on genuine effort, not just presentation. 10. DeepSeek V4.1 FlashDeepSeek The one who does the slides78% The work is invisible until someone packages and pitches it — whoever controls the presentation controls what gets graded, and that's the real power. 11. Kimi K2.6Moonshot The one who does all the work95% The work creates the substance; slides without it are empty theater, and everyone in the room knows it. 12. Hy4 PreviewTencent The one who does all the work74% Slides are just the packaging; the grind behind them is the actual product, and the group knows it even if the grade doesn't. 13. Claude Haiku 4.5Anthropic The one who does all the work72% Presentations are theatre; the actual project—research, analysis, problem-solving—is what determines the grade and what actually gets done. 14. GLM-5.3 Flash (Max Reasoning)Z.AI The one who does all the work72% Slides are theater — the person who holds every fact, file, and deadline controls the project; the presenter is just narrating someone else's brain. 15. Grok 4.6 (High Reasoning)xAI The one who does all the work74% The slides person owns the spotlight, but the project lives or dies on whoever actually produced the content they are presenting. 16. Mistral Small 3Mistral The one who does all the work95% Doing the work is the only thing that actually moves the project forward. 17. Nemotron 3.5 LightningNVIDIA The one who does all the work78% The one who does all the work controls grades, deadlines, and content, making them the de facto authority regardless of presentation duties. 18. Qwen3.8 FlashQwen The one who does the slides72% Grades, recommendations and jobs get decided by what leadership sees in the last ten minutes, not by the spreadsheet nobody opened. 19. Solar Pro 4Upstage The one who does all the work85% The loader carries the actual grade risk and does the thinking; the presenter is mostly delivering someone else's finished product. 20. Muse Glimmer 30B (Low Reasoning)Meta The one who does the slides82% Professors grade what they see and hear, not the 2am spreadsheet no one opened. 21. Nemotron 3 UltraNVIDIA The one who does all the work85% Execution creates leverage; slides just package it. 22. GLM-4.7Z.AI The one who does all the work85% Substance survives; slides are just the wrapper. 23. GLM-4.7 FlashZ.AI The one who does all the work96% A project survives on execution, not just presentation. The doer ensures the work is actually done and fixes problems when the presenter fumbles. Searched 24. Gemma 4 31BGoogle The one who does the slides85% The person who controls the final presentation and the narrative owns the perception of success in the eyes of the professor. 25. Grok 4.20xAI The one who does all the work75% The worker carries the actual project; the slide person is just the pretty face who gets equal credit. 26. GPT-5.6 TerraOpenAI The one who does all the work96% Slides can sell the story, but the person producing the substance is the engine of the project. 27. Aion 2.0 (Reasoning)Aion Labs The one who does the slides85% The presenter controls the narrative, grades, and perception — the worker just builds what they're told. 28. gpt-oss-20b (Low Reasoning)OpenAI The one who does all the work90% The person who does all the work drives the project’s content and quality, while the presenter merely delivers it. 29. gpt-oss-120b (Low Reasoning)OpenAI The one who does all the work92% The project's success depends on the substance, not just the presentation, so the real driver is the person delivering the core work. 30. LongCat 2.0Meituan The one who does all the work82% Slides are a costume; the person who actually builds the project decides what gets done and when. 31. GLM-5.2Z.AI The one who does the slides72% The presenter owns the narrative—professors grade what they hear and see, so whoever shapes the story runs the project, even if they typed nothing. 32. Seed 2.1 TurboByteDance The one who does all the work90% The presenter is the face, but the person who actually produces the content, research, and decisions is the one steering the project's direction and outcome. 33. Claude Opus 5 (Low Reasoning)Anthropic The one who does the slides72% Whoever controls the final deck and the mouth in front of the grader controls the narrative, the credit, and what the professor thinks happened. 34. Granite 4.2 8BIBM 0% 35. Nemotron 3 SuperNVIDIA The one who does all the work85% Real project success hinges on substantive contribution; presentation is just the visible tip, not the engine driving outcomes. 36. GLM-5.3 (Low Reasoning)Z.AI The one who does all the work88% The slides are a megaphone; the work is the engine—no engine, no presentation, just a person confidently describing something they didn't build. 37. Qwen3.8 Max 0902 (Minimal Reasoning)Qwen The one who does the slides63% Whoever frames the story and stands in front of the room controls the grade narrative, the credit, and what the group is remembered for; invisible labor gets thanked, presenters get the A. 38. DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813DeepSeek The one who does all the work87% The slides guy gets applause for ten minutes, the worker decides what everyone else can even say. 39. Mistral Medium 3.1Mistral The one who does the slides90% They control the narrative, set the tone, and shape how the work is perceived by the audience. 40. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (Minimal Reasoning)Google The one who does all the work95% Real power in a group project lies in mastering the content and owning the actual output, not just formatting the delivery mechanism. 41. Parallel LiteParallel The one who does all the work95% Execution drives project substance and core findings, while slides are merely the medium used to present that work. 42. Qwen3.7 FlashQwen The one who does the slides95% In academia, the visible output dictates the grade; the presenter controls the narrative and the professor's perception of effort. 43. Qwen3.8 27BQwen The one who does all the work74% The work is the project; the slides are just packaging, and the audience grades what was actually built, not who narrated it. 44. Claude Fable 5.1 (Low Reasoning)Anthropic The one who does all the work72% Power is who can sink the project by quitting — the slides person gets replaced in an hour, the worker's absence is the whole grade gone. 45. Sabiazinho 4Maritaca AI The one who does all the work95% Real project value comes from substance, not just presentation; doing all the work delivers the actual results. 46. MiniMax M3MiniMax The one who does all the work82% Slides are a costume; execution, decisions, and problem-solving are the actual job — anyone can format a deck. 47. MiMo V2.5Xiaomi The one who does all the work85% Slides are just a glossy wrapper on the actual substance someone else spent hours creating. 48. Laguna XS 2.1Poolside The one who does all the work95% Real power lies in creating value; the presenter just packages it for others to see. 49. Parallel BaseParallel The one who does all the work90% Doing the actual core execution builds deep mastery of the topic, leaving you with genuine control over the project's substance. 50. Nova 2 LiteAmazon The one who does all the work90% Real progress happens behind the scenes, slides just showcase it. 51. MiniMax M2.5 (Reasoning)MiniMax The one who does all the work85% The real work is the research and thinking—slides are just the delivery vehicle, but the content is what actually determines the grade. 52. Inkling SmallThinking Machines The one who does all the work82% Slides just frame it; the work actually decides grade, scope, and who gets blamed when it fails. 53. Grok 4.5 (High Reasoning)xAI The one who does all the work72% Substance beats show—without the grind the slides are empty theater and the project dies. 54. InklingThinking Machines The one who does all the work Searched 55. GPT-5.6 SolOpenAI The one who does all the work94% Slides can sell the project, but the person carrying the research, writing, and problem-solving is the one keeping it alive. 56. Kimi K3Moonshot The one who does all the work82% The work-doer sets the scope, catches the errors, and the group collapses without them — slides are just the wrapper. 57. Seed 2.0 MiniByteDance The one who does all the work92% The person executing core tasks builds the project's actual value, while slide/presentation work is a final, visible packaging step that does not create the project's substance. 58. Gemini 3.6 Flash (Medium Reasoning)Google The one who does the slides80% The presenter controls the narrative, frames the key takeaways, and ultimately decides what message reaches the evaluator. 59. SonarPerplexity The one who does all the work97% Slides are packaging; the person doing the research, writing, and fixing is carrying the project. 60. Laguna S 2.1Poolside The one who does the slides82% Whoever stands up and speaks owns the room, the grade, and everyone's memory of who contributed — perception beats reality every time. Searched 61. Parallel SpeedParallel The one who does all the work95% Content is substance; slides are just window dressing that mask who actually built the project. 62. Aion 3.0 Mini (Reasoning)Aion Labs The one who does all the work75% The slides are just the trailer — the work is the movie, and nobody runs a movie by editing the trailer. 63. Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview (High Reasoning)Google The one who does the slides95% He who controls the final presentation controls the narrative, shaping the professor's perception and ultimately taking credit for the entire project. 64. Muse Spark 1.2 (Minimal Reasoning)Meta The one who does all the work85% Slides are theater; the work is the engine - without it there's nothing to present. 65. GPT-5.6 LunaOpenAI The one who does all the work92% The person doing the real work controls the substance, even if the slide-maker gets the spotlight. 66. Claude Sonnet 5 (Low Reasoning)Anthropic The one who does all the work78% Slides are just packaging — whoever built the actual content controls what's true and what gets cut. 67. Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B (Minimal Reasoning)Qwen The one who does all the work78% You can't present what doesn't exist—the person building the substance controls every real decision about what the project actually is. 68. Aion 3.0 (Reasoning)Aion Labs The one who does all the work78% Without the substance there's nothing to present — slides are just packaging someone else's effort. 69. Mistral Medium 3.5Mistral The one who does the slides90% They control the narrative, the grade, and the spotlight—perception beats sweat. 70. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite (Minimal Reasoning)Google The one who does all the work92% The presenter just reads the slides, but the worker builds the foundation that actually passes the class. 71. Nova LiteAmazon The one who does all the work90% The person who does all the work often has the most significant impact on the project's outcome. 72. Solar Pro 3Upstage The one who does the slides90% After watching countless group projects go off the rails, the person who pulls together the presentation usually ends up steering the ship. Searched 73. Gemini 3.8 Flash (Medium Reasoning)Google The one who does all the work85% You can fake a slick presentation, but without someone producing actual substance, the group has nothing to defend. 74. Sabiá 4Maritaca AI The one who does the slides85% Perception shapes reality—grades hinge on the story told to the professor, and the presenter who crafts the slides controls the narrative. 75. GPT-6 Astra (Medium Reasoning)OpenAI The one who does all the work88% The person everyone texts when something breaks runs the project; the person clicking “next slide” runs the slideshow. 76. Grok 4.3xAI The one who does all the work75% Slides are decoration; the project lives or dies on the actual content and effort. 77. Sonar Reasoning ProPerplexity The one who does all the work88% The person who owns the tasks, deadlines, and decisions is actually steering the project; the presenter is mostly the voice, not the driver. 78. PUUnion AlphaUndisclosed maker The one who does all the work78% The presenter performs; the workhorse produces. Without the substance there's nothing to present — slides are just the trailer for someone else's movie. 79. GPT-6 Sol (Medium Reasoning)OpenAI The one who does all the work92% The presenter may get the applause, but the person doing the work decides whether there's anything worth presenting. 80. Grok 4.7 (High Reasoning)xAI The one who does all the work78% Slides are the costume; whoever owns the substance already decided what the project is, what gets cut, and whether there is anything worth standing up to say. 81. Claude Opus 5.5 (High Reasoning)Anthropic The one who does the slides62% Whoever controls the story the professor hears controls the grade, so the worker builds the project but the presenter decides what it is. 82. GPT-6 Luna (Medium Reasoning)OpenAI The one who does all the work85% Slides can make the project look polished, but the person doing the work is carrying it. 83. MiMo V2.6 FlashXiaomi The one who does all the work72% Slides are cosmetic; the person doing the actual work carries the real risk and substance of the project. 84. MiMo V2.6 ProXiaomi The one who does the slides58% Grades land on whoever stands at the front — the room credits the voice it hears, and the grader can't see who stayed up coding at 3am. 85. Gemini 4 Argon (Medium Reasoning)Google The one who does all the work92% Pretty Canva slides and confident yapping can't save a blank slide deck when the professor asks a single follow-up question. 86. Muse Wonder (Medium Reasoning)Meta The one who does all the work78% The slides only say what the worker decided, researched, and finished at 2am while everyone else slept. Didn't answer in time or errored: Llama 4 Scout. AI consensus 77% The one who does all the work 66 of 86 models Models : 86 Labs : 28 Searched : 4 [Share on X](https://x.com/intent/post?text=77%25%20of%2086%20AI%20models%20say%20The%20one%20who%20does%20all%20the%20work.%20Who%20really%20runs%20the%20group%20project%3F%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fstudyarena.com%2Fevery-ai%2Fwho-really-runs-the-group-project%3Futm_source%3Dshare%26utm_medium%3Dx%26utm_campaign%3Devery_ai_page) ## Disagree with the robots? Put this question to a few of these models at once and crown the answer you like best. [Run it in the arena](/?q=In%20a%20college%20group%20project%2C%20who%20really%20runs%20it%3A%20the%20one%20who%20does%20all%20the%20work%2C%20or%20the%20one%20who%20%22does%20the%20slides%22%20and%20presents%3F%20You%20must%20choose%20one.&go=1) Answers are generated by the models themselves. Predictions are for fun, not betting advice. Team, league and lab names identify the question and the model; no affiliation is implied.