Remember the 2004 movie “iRobot,” where the world was taken over by, well, robots or the central AI V.I.K.I. (Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence)?
Except, it isn’t just a movie anymore, but our reality with multiple forms of artificial intelligence (AI). AI is inching its way into fields like healthcare, finance, business, marketing and more.
What does that look like in education?
According to the Campbell Academic Technology Services, a global survey conducted by the Digital Education Council found 86% of students were using AI in their studies, and 54% used it weekly, while one in four used it daily.
Talon Wilterdink, a senior esports and gaming student, is on the hopeful side of AI. Wilterdink has a plus subscription for ChatGPT, which allows him unlimited use of the most up-to-date available AI models.
“I have a positive opinion of AI that mainly stems from its ability to enhance what humans are already capable of doing and push our abilities to heights never seen before,” said Wilterdink.
Similar to Wilterdink, other students say they use AI models like ChatGPT to help them study, find sources and organize thoughts and actions.
“I use ChatGPT often just to talk about things I’m thinking about or any ideas that I get and am curious to learn more about,” said Wilterdink. “My thoughts are often very scattered, so the AI helps me figure out my train of thought and organize my thoughts.”
A survey conducted by BestColleges among 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students, shows that 56% of college students have used AI on assignments or exams. Even with his positive outlook on AI, Wilterdink still expresses concerns about it in educational settings.
“AI in education is a tricky subject, since I feel it is mostly used incorrectly in the space despite having the clear potential to make a positive impact,” he said.
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, Emmanuel College conducted a survey indicating that 50% to 70% of college students and 70% to 80% of high school students have cheated on assignments. Around half of college students use AI, and more than half use it to cheat.
Not only does AI make it easier to cheat, but it has arguably helped with lifestyle and increased the reliability of technology, something with which Jennifer Arena, a senior environmental science major, does not agree.
“I do not like the thought of machines doing things for me because there is no independence and originality to thoughts, ideas and lifestyles,” said Arena.
Arena said she tries to minimize her use of AI because of environmental and moral reasons, and that she only uses it to “help give me ideas, strategies and to generate flashcards to study for exams that I either did not have the time to create or know how to go about starting.”
Arena agrees with Wilterdink that AI can be beneficial if it’s used in the right way, not to cheat, plagiarize or think for us, but to assist us, suggest ideas and help with time-consuming tasks.
“This should be the primary focus because we should not use AI to do mundane tasks or use it to think for us,” said Arena. “There are times when we struggle with thinking about ideas or thoughts to contribute to a conversation, so it is fine to use it to assist us, but not for us to steal or plagiarize by using it.”
Unlike Will Smith in the movie, we cannot just make AI disappear, but we can try to adapt to the new world of technology. Though college faculty are hesitant about AI, an increasing number of professors have implemented AI in their courses, while universities have even made individualized courses on how to use AI. Specifically, the university offers a master’s degree and has recently added a bachelor’s degree in AI. The course is made to prepare students with technical and ethical skills for careers in AI.
“In the future, I think massive benefits will come to the education space once AI literacy becomes normalized in society,” said Wilterdink. “Think about how powerful it would be to have individualized teaching for every student that moves along at the pace they need–this is what I believe AI is capable of helping us with in the education space, and hopefully that will arrive sooner than later.”
