Artificial Intelligence is everywhere in the modern world: in self-driving cars, with images and videos on social media, and educational technology in and out of the classroom.

Students using AI to do their work without the teacher’s endorsement are considered to be committing an academic integrity violation, along the same line as plagiarism. Yet, many students at Jesuit High School Sacramento are still using AI to do their work for them.

“I’m at an all-time high of academic integrity issues in recent years,” said Physics Teacher Mr. Lawrence Simon ’13. “This year is one of the worst in a few years, and I think part of that’s because people have grown a little bit more entitled [to use AI].”

The constant use of AI from students can harm their ability to learn. This pattern of shortcutting the traditional learning method in favor of a fast fix via AI doesn’t lead to efficient or effective learning.

“It depends what you are using [AI] for,” said Social Studies Teacher Mr. Stephen Lee. “ If you are using it to do your writing for you, [it won’t help you] because then you are using it to do your thinking, which means you aren’t growing. It would be like asking a robot to lift weights for you so you can go and get strong; it’s never gonna happen.”

In addition to AI being a shortcut, it also takes away from traditional aspects of learning: taking time outside of class to understand what is being taught. 

“The struggling student is harmed the most by [AI] because they’re the ones who would have to actually take time tutoring, spending time working 1-on-1 with me, or even just taking additional time to think through things,” Mr. Lee said. “They’re not getting those repetitions and aren’t thinking as much.”

Despite the downsides to using AI, there are certainly some upsides to it. When using AI, there are limitless possibilities to how it can help you. Websites like ChatGPT can often function as a fancy search engine, and plugging in the right prompt can give you ideas and concepts that go beyond the original intent of your prompt entirely.

“AI is really cool because [AI] is opening up new possibilities of learning,” Mr. Simon said. “The questions students used to ask eight years ago were different than the questions they’re asking now. And so part of that’s because they’re going to AI, and AI is able to relay information to them that they’re more comfortable learning. And if they don’t get it, they ask AI, ‘I don’t get it, explain it again.’ And so our conversations and the depth of knowledge are deeper.”

Across different subjects, however, the jump to use AI in the classroom has been a contested and ongoing debate. One viewpoint suggests that the integration of AI into the classroom is beneficial, as it helps students prepare for the real world and get a head start on a technology that everyone else is already using.

“[AI] is only as good as you make it to be,” Mr. Simon said. “Oftentimes, if you use the wrong prompt, or if you don’t ask the context in an appropriate manner, or if you over-rely on it, it’s not going to get you everything, just like any other tool in life. Back in the 50s, calculators began becoming more mainstream. People were saying, ‘Oh, this is the end of teaching.’ Yeah, it’s not.”

While another viewpoint suggests that the usage of AI tools is a hindrance to learning, destroying the foundation of what going to school is meant for: critical thinking and excellence.

“I specifically prohibit the use of language generation programs because they destroy any draft work that’s been done, because they provide simply a veneer of fluency on top of undeveloped ideas,” said English teacher Mr. Hornback. “The problem with that is that instead of providing a way to actually develop an idea, essentially it substitutes glibness for analysis. And it’s pretty easy to spot, and it’s disappointing because students who use it don’t have the opportunity to develop a necessary skill that increasingly will distinguish them from everyone else. Independent thought will become increasingly a rare skill.”

AI can be a useful tool, one that can help or depreciate your learning. Using AI on all the work given to you not only harms the effect of learning, but threatens to make students reliant on a technology they do not fully understand. Using it to deepen your understanding of the subject matter, however, may allow for a better learning environment that can assist learning, allowing for understanding to reach new levels.