AI is constantly being talked about in classrooms, usually about students using AI tools to help with school work and in some cases cheat! However, is that the only way AI can be used? Can it be used to benefit those who use it instead of taking away from academics? Some teachers think it can be used for good, and with a little responsibility, AI can further academics further than ever before!
What exactly is AI? AI stands for artificial intelligence, and over the last few years it has gotten increasingly more advanced and easier to access. From apps like ChatGPT to Snapchat AI, artificial intelligence is everywhere and people are using it for some bad reasons. Some use AI to create photos, videos, and other media and some even use AI to create essays and entire books! Students are becoming more inclined to use AI, especially for assignments that are time consuming because of how quickly artificial intelligence can do them for you. AI is becoming so normalized and so useful that some teachers have even decided to start using it. Mr. Clements, an English 3 teacher, has said that he uses AI as a formal use to proofread emails before sending them. According to Mr. Clements when regulated AI could be very useful and it will inevitably be integrated so we need to place restrictions on it so it doesn’t take away from students’ education. Mr.Clements does not condone the use of AI for plagiarism, but he does see the possible advantages that it offers on grammar check, something that can help you reflect on your words before submitting, or even as a class companion.
Some concern about the difficulty of making sure AI is used responsibly, which is backed by the difficulty many schools are already having in enforcing strong phone policies. Some believe the way to ensure AI is used responsibly is by embracing it quickly with changes like teachers using AI along with students and teaching students how to use AI for tool questions. In fact Houman Harouni, a professor at Harvard University, attempted a complete integration of AI into the classroom and he supports it more than ever, saying “Where we want to get to is a place where you’re dancing with it, dancing with robots,”.
Artificial intelligence definitely has great potential and can be used to automate many tasks to make a person’s job easier. However using AI responsibly has to be a top priority. Finding a way to use AI to help you progress instead of doing the work for you is crucial to make sure that artificial intelligence doesn’t become a crutch you rely on for work.
