“In an era where technology has become deeply intertwined with everyday life, students and professionals alike are turning to artificial intelligence for support in their daily tasks.” So much so that this 27 word statement was curated with ChatGPT-4, which shows how many innovations new-age learners have at their fingertips today.
Writing A+ worthy, show-stopping essays and assignments used to take a minimum of a couple hours. Now students pump them out in seconds, having half of the time accounted for typing in an instructive prompt. Of course, the current output almost always requires an in-depth analysis, chunking down on vague adjectives such as ‘cohesive,’ ‘multifaceted,’ and ‘informative.’
With small correction though, the resemblance appears uncanny to the work of a human. It’s inevitable that the future of the workforce is entirely dependent on a new generation of students — those who are using text-based, generative A.I. on a day-to-day basis.
According to a survey conducted this year by the Digital Education Council, 86% of students worldwide claim to use artificial intelligence educationally. In that same survey, 54% of students admit to using it weekly. Although the numbers appear alarmingly large, they do not indicate that all students are blatantly plagiarizing. Out of a usage-based portion, only 28% of students admit to mostly paraphrase documents.
That being considered, there are a slew of good things A.I. is used for beyond plagiarism here on campus. An anonymous student admits they use ChatGPT to clarify topics. “It’s better to ask [A.I] to explain why you got it wrong and how to solve it, than to continue on and not understand it at all,” they said. By utilizing the software, they opt over possibly interrupting lessons or exceeding the time of them.
Junior Victoria Regueiro reports her writing has improved with the use of generative A.I. “It can help make an outline which allows students to plan better and so on, to spark some creativity.” Regueiro also believes the bots illustrate the most prowess when posed with subjects math, science, and english. “The bot gives you graphs and can solve problems using tables from your photos,” she explains.
Beyond students, teachers and staff are also finding significance in the engine. AICE Literature AS Level educator Trisha Koch explains how helpful it has been in her educational thought process. “I use it for some of the tedious tasks, like reordering questions or putting data into tables, which saves me a lot of time.”
Koch has also noted that her favorite feature of A.I. is generating images to accompany the information on her slides. “They can be tailor-made and specific. I think it makes them more engaging for the students and hopefully helps them remember the material.”
As helpful as she views it, Koch advises people to use ChatGPT as a guiding point rather than a final answer. She emphasizes that everyone (students included), should always think critically about the suggestions it provides, remaining wary of source credibility. Her stance remains that A.I. should be anything but a writer’s crutch.
For many AICE students, it is a reinforced idea that the course is of great rigour. With generative A.I, more students have been able to reap the benefits of high level courses. According to a study published in 2023, A.I. was able to guarantee college students a 4% increase in their GPA. Hours of laboursome point A to point B tasks were once an off-putting challenge for these courses. Now, students can cut time and those elongated textbooks out of their agenda. Generative A.I. allows students to optimize certain skills and build on what matters.
There is of course, some degree of risk to optimization. Senior Kaitlyn Srbovan states that “if we keep having bots do everything for us, they are going to replace us in every way possible. There’s going to be nothing left.” Srbovan uses ChatGPT every now and then for a closer analysis of texts in her English class.
As someone interested in the arts, she fears its effects on the creative field. “I don’t use it often because it feeds off of my answers and then uses it for future reference for other users. I’m scared about giving my art away to the system and the thousands of people who have had their art stolen.”
Although some generative A.I. ‘s newer results have been horrifically realistic, there is an unlikely chance an ‘A.I. takeover’ would take place this decade. Lawmakers and artist movements are firm against thievish software usage, and will most likely stunt some of its progress through law and protest.
It can also be said that assistive technology has offered more than just limitless answers based on a wealth of sources. It also has offered students and teachers a well balanced life. With the automation of every task at the click of a button, people can organize all of their tasks. This minimizes the time spent on laboursome work and maximizes the time to pursue hobbies, improve health, and prioritize mental wellness. If people have balance, they can be the best version of themselves.
