Artificial Intelligence in Education: Risks and Potential
By Chayse Larsen
Artificial Intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT, have become heavily integrated into education in recent years. This has sparked many discussions surrounding academic integrity and responsible use. The line between using AI as a helpful tool for guiding research or correct writing errors often becomes blurred when used to complete entire projects.
As a result, many students risk relying on it as a crutch. While AI can serve as a tool to inspire and support students' skills, it also poses significant risks toward creativity, originality and critical thinking skills.
With new technologies on the rise, reshaping classroom functions, both teachers and students are grappling with the moral implications of using AI. How can it be used ethically, and what will it mean for the future of originality in education?
While there are many ways AI poses a threat to diminishing education, students have discovered how to use it as a tool to enhance schoolwork rather than replace it. Many use it to impose grammar checks, transcribe audio clips or generate ideas. These tools can help save time and improve student productivity without undermining the learning aspect.
For instance, the website TurboScribe transcribes audio clips and is an invaluable resource for student journalists to accurately document recorded interviews. Additionally, many students use sites like ChatGPT to provide things such as essay outlines to help overcome writer's block and refine ideas.
Justine Garcia, a 20-year-old English major at Chaffey College, has found new ways to use AI tools for her writing in a way that does not take away from her personal voice or skills. Instead, these tools have helped her pursue educational endeavors.
“I do occasionally use ChatGPT, but I try to only use it when I truly need help in situations where I lack inspiration for writing or when I need to check for mistakes in my work,” Garcia said. “I’ve found it to be a useful resource to help improve my own work, but I am against using it to do the work for me.”
When used as a guide rather than a substitute for original thinking, AI can aid students in producing more refined work while still maintaining an individual voice and critical thinking abilities.
However, the growing rate of AI sites has also led to misuse, and teachers are quickly losing control over the heavy usage of this tool. Being able to determine whether a piece of work is original, or has been curated by artificial intelligence is the main difficulty.
For some students, it has become a shortcut that replaces genuine effort. Relying on AI tools to write essays, respond to discussion posts or solve math problems can stunt intellectual growth. A form of dependency will grow that weakens essential academic skills.
While some AI detection tools exist, they are not always reliable, making it easy for students to submit AI generated work as their own. Without the ability to hold students accountable for these actions, AI is continuously used as a free pass for students who do not want to complete any work. This raises serious concerns about academic integrity and fairness in the classroom.
Garcia feels that there should be more safeguards to prevent students' use of AI in school.
“It's frightening to me how popular AI has become in the classroom. I feel like a lot of students nowadays aren’t really learning anything because of it,” she explained. “In that regard, I think AI has made students become lazy.”
While the rising traction of AI in education is something that cannot be avoided, it is important for students and educators to find a balance that shifts toward responsible use. Applying classroom guidelines for AI usage will help students foster a mindful approach with the tool, remembering the importance of ethics and originality.
As technology continues to evolve, society must learn to use AI in a way that enhances learning instead of hindering it.