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Read Enaya`s full analytical blog on current political discussions surrounding Trump at the link in our bio.

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Written Debates: AI in Education: Friend or Foe?

Question: Should AI be used in education?

Claire O'Connor and Avery Ramsey

April 30, 2024

Claire O’Connor

ChatGPT, a popular AI chatbot developed by OpenAI.

As GenAI (or generative artificial intelligence) is continuing to expand to encompass all creative and factual horizons, students today have the world’s knowledge at their fingertips — and then some. We were the guinea pigs for the iPhone, and now our generation are the experimental subjects for artificial intelligence.

Reporters Avery Ramsey and Claire O’Connor debate the positives and negatives of AI in education. They will explore their nuanced opinions regarding this topic.

Ramsey:

AI will harm the functionality of learning. The intellectual ability of students depends on exercising performance of the material learned.

AI shortcuts attack this fundamental part of development — most importantly, writing. We have to acknowledge that AI is not Google.

Google provides students with resources written by other humans that they use, applying critical thinking to fit information together to make a cogent argument. This isn’t the case with AI.

The prompt for an entire essay? It’s probably written in less than fifty words — then poof, all that articulation and consideration that happens when you write is lost. Gone and replaced with the ease of an essay generated in seconds.

If people are copying and pasting AI generated essays, how do they learn to compose a coherent argument? What part of practice doesn’t involve hands-on repetition? Not to mention, the self discovery included in writing takes a significant hit.

If AI essays become the norm in schools, critical and analytical thinking skills will deteriorate with human competence.

O'Connor:

AI is not going away. It can’t be ignored, and we need to stop pretending it doesn’t exist. Many teachers adopt the harmful mindset of completely avoiding any AI use in their classroom.

This is simply unrealistic. Whether they like it or not, their students will be using AI. It’s up to the teachers in what way the AI could be used.

I’m not saying students should have ChatGPT write their essays; that most certainly stunts growth in intellectual learning. However, we shouldn’t cut AI out of our schools.

When most students think of using AI in relation to their education, many immediately assume it’s academic integrity. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead of using AI to write an entire essay, it can be used as a helpful starting point to help develop and form your ideas.

AI can be a great source for research. For example, you could write a topic sentence included in your essay and ask AI to feed you websites or statistics relating to your topic.

Ramsey:

Yes, I agree — AI is not disappearing, no matter the complications it evokes. However, it takes a certain discipline to limit how far to go when you use it.

Do you really trust highschool students to use AI honestly? This includes citing sources that the AI credits, being transparent about how original your work really is and consciously reframing the data generated. Even those with the most academic integrity may get lazy and punch in a prompt for a semester project that’s fifty percent of their grade.

As for the students who solely rely on their own skill, what happens when everyone around them utilizes AI? Does their fidelity automatically put them at a disadvantage when compared to their peers — who have the leg up from generative AI?

Even then, those students are sometimes incidentally accused of using AI when they submit something that an educator might deem beyond their abilities. Credibility is in limbo now that AI has taken the wheel.

O'Connor:

I definitely agree that academic credibility is a huge issue when it comes to AI in schools. Schools need to set up guidelines for students to use with AI so that they understand the line between using it as a helpful tool and academic dishonesty.

Schools’ continued blatant ignorance towards AI software only enables their students to use it for all the wrong reasons. AI lessons in the classroom will inform students of credible AI usage in the classroom setting..

Teachers also must inform students that while they may use AI, it cannot be their only source. Students should only use AI software that properly cite their sources, and should still fact check the information. Learning how to cite sources from AI is another incredibly important skill that must be taught to students for it to be used properly in schools.

Should AI be used in schools?

Sorry, there was an error loading this poll.

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written debates

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About the Contributors

Claire O’Connor, Editor

Hi! My name is Claire O'Connor and I'm a sophomore. This is my second year on staff and my first year as an editor. I'm an editor for both newspaper and yearbook (hint: newspaper is my favorite.) I am the author of the music blog Symphonic Saturday, that comes out biweekly at 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Outside of writing and photography, I play softball, sing in Valley's Chamber Choir and am a member of SCA, LVSI, and Tri-M. I love newspaper so much and am excited for my years to come with The Viking.

Avery Ramsey, Editor

Hi! My name is Avery Ramsey and I am in my senior year of high school here at Valley. In my free time I enjoy reading, writing, and listening to podcasts and music. I cover a range of topics for the newspaper from opinion to news, and I enjoy the challenge of bouncing between styles. I also author the blog Valley Shelf Talk, where I talk about all things bookish. This year, I am excited to continue to improve my writing skills and continue writing for The Viking.