The use of artificial intelligence chatbots in the classroom undermines the purpose of higher education, Hillsdale College student Moira Gleason wrote in a recent op-ed compiling several students’ opinions on the subject.
“Writing an undergraduate paper isn’t about the actual paper,” Gleason wrote in the Wall Street Journal article.
English majors, like herself, are unlikely to write anything “novel” about books they’re assigned to read, she wrote.
Rather, the purpose of many assignments is to help students gain a better understanding of the class material by writing about it in their own words.
Therefore, using AI would “rob” students of their education, Gleason wrote.
The student also wrote:
I write not because anyone else needs to read my thoughts, but because I need to write them. Delivering a finished paper takes hours of reading, rereading, outlining, drafting and editing. Even then, as one of my professors said, papers are never really finished, they are only due. Writing may be draining, never perfect, but it’s always rewarding.
Slaving over term papers every semester for three years has made me a more careful reader, insightful thinker and articulate writer. When my professor grades my work, he judges the merit of my thought and engagement with the text. The page must reflect me, then, not the output of a chatbot.
However, not all students agree that AI should stay out of the classroom.
Harvard University medical student Dhruva Gupta wrote that AI is a useful tool that students and schools should take advantage of.
“[S]uccess isn’t measured by memorization but by the ability to make informed decisions that save lives. Increasingly, that means working alongside AI,” she said.
She referenced research showing that medical professionals who use AI chatbots “make better clinical decisions than a doctor working alone.”
Still, she admitted that students can use these chatbots unethically when they avoid learning by having AI do the work for them.
“But there’s a clear difference between outsourcing thinking and using AI to enhance it. Medical schools shouldn’t only allow AI—they have a duty to teach how to use it responsibly,” Gupta said.
Similarly, Reichman University law student Shira Shturman said using AI in the classroom “isn’t inherently dishonest” and can be helpful.
“AI tools are becoming as ubiquitous as calculators,” the student wrote.
“What matters is how educators design assignments, and how teachers shift their focus from assessing rote knowledge to assessing critical skills,” she wrote.
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Artificial intelligence chatbot; Supatman/Canva Pro