In recent years AI has become more popularized and more accessible to anyone. Although it can be fun, and helpful at times, it has also shown some negative effects, especially in academic settings. AI, short for artificial intelligence, is the development of machines that are designed to think and do tasks like humans. AI can do things such as make visuals, speech recognition, do decision-making, translate between languages, write responses, and so much more. AI is at our fingertips and very easy to access. So much so that you can find free AI chatbots on some of our everyday social media apps such as Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram. With that, students are starting to realize that they can use it to their advantage.
Teachers often complain about how the use of AI affects students’ performance in classes. It has become common that students will use AI to cheat on their school work and have it do whole assignments for them in more severe cases. Many students see it as the easy way out because the use of it is harder to catch. This means that English teachers are seeing this commonly in their students’ work, especially with essays and writing assignments. When English teacher, Mrs. Kristin Fischer, was asked about the use of AI by students, she said, “I think it’s affecting them negatively now because they haven’t been taught how to use it the right way.” She also stated that, “It can be used appropriately…but until they actually learn the ethical way to use it, I don’t think it’s being used the way that it should be.”
