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Artificial Intelligence, An Adversary Or Friend?

Weston Dorr

A new era of technology is starting, and artificial intelligence (AI) is at the forefront. Coming into the school year, AI is a subject as relevant as ever, changing the ways that students learn. The internet, now filled with websites generating text and images like ChatGPT and DALL-E3, just might be too helpful for students. Although some students feel that AI can be used for good, such as providing inspiration for their projects and being able to be used as a calculator and a text summarization tool, others see its bad side. Some point out how it may give away the answers or write entire essays for students, causing them to rely on AI more than they do on their brains.

“It’s a cheat code… [students]are not really learning anything,” junior Madison Earnest said.

Some people feel that AI makes things too easy and may think that it gives people too much information in a school setting; students may not be able to learn if they are given the answers.

“It could be hard for the teacher to teach… the computer could teach them,” sophomore Lucy Ahern added.

Not only can AI make teaching harder for the teachers, but challenges vary from class to class because there are different applications of AI.

Mrs. Wilke, the Freshman English teacher, commented on how it has affected English class specifically. “I think that it's been interesting to watch in English class, because I see people using it as a tool to come up with ideas. … it has begun to be a bit of a crutch. Students feel like it is hard for them to create their own ideas,” Wilke said.

Mr. Stone, a Biology teacher, shared similarities between the emergence of AI and the beginnings of the internet.

“What I think of is back to when I was your age and the internet was just becoming a thing. Teachers were struggling to use technology, students used technology in intended and non-intended ways,” Stone said.

Although many people find that AI has negative qualities, people also seem to have hope and trust in AI.

“Schools that have provided training for teachers on the proper uses of AI and are able to control AI will be more successful than schools without any training or that don’t use AI at all. You need groundwork to be successful,” Stone affirmed.

Wilke seemed to agree with her fellow teacher surrounding the future incorporation of AI.

“I think we are in a phase right now where it feels more negative because schools need to figure out how to incorporate it in a more useful way. I have hope, but we are in a growing stage right now,” Wilke asserted.

It isn’t just the teachers who trust in AI, students like Ahern believe in the technology as well.

“…artificial intelligence could be helpful… ChatGPT and Grammarly could help students that struggle with spelling and grammar…” Ahern continued.

In the end, people seemed to find some common ground about how AI should be integrated into schools. Many said that it should not be completely omitted from learning, and that it should not be fully accepted into school, but a mix of the two.

“I do think that we need to figure out how to incorporate [AI] in a responsible way. There are some assignments that it should be banned for… students should be able to do both,” Wilke concluded.

Stone is in alignment with Wilke’s ideas of a mix of AI being used, rather than committing to full AI or completely banning it.

“I think that we need to have a mix; I think there are tools that students should be limited to, to not let AI do the assignments for them. Until we get that groundwork in, do those first steps, we should be more cautious,” Stone finished. “It is a challenge for teachers and students to know what is acceptable and how to regulate and evolve with the quickly changing technologies.”

Whether you like AI or not, it is a technology that has revolutionized its industry. How we deal with a service as wild and untamed as AI may be difficult and controversial. Its wide range of information gives out a fountain of knowledge, but sometimes it may be giving out too much information in places like schools. Nevertheless, AI has proven through some of its abilities that it can be used as a force for good, and a solution of mixed access to AI seems to be the consensus among students and teachers alike.

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