There are many things that we are aware of about AI right now because it has been a talked about subject throughout the last few years. It has prompted discussions about everyday aspects of our lives, such as politics, healthcare, and other aspects that are integral to our lives. It holds the potential to enhance our lives for the better and to discover and improve upon old and new things more quickly. However, it could also leak into some more dangerous parts of the world, such as criminals using AI as a way to hack into others’ technology, such as computers, government agencies, and even worse, our data. Despite initial concerns, AI is very likely to become a valuable tool, benefiting not just students, but teachers, tech, IT, and various other jobs. And it will most likely benefit humanity more than causing harm to it. The benefits of AI, in the end, outweigh the drawbacks of AI.
Many of you might know of ChatGPT. It was released in November 2021 to the whole public, and it has been a subject of debate about modern technology and what its place is in our modern world. One of those technologies I’m using right now is a voice app in ChatGPT. However, I utilize, and I must be clear on this, I am utilizing this voice option to voice my original text for my article. I’m not letting the AI write my article. Instead, I’m just using the tool to record my voice and then put it into words, so that way it’s still technically mine, not the AI’s work. And even then, sometimes the voice app takes one of my words wrong as a result, and makes up a word that is not supposed to be in my paragraph. And as a result, I still must edit my mistakes. The reason why I choose this option is because I struggle with traditional typing. It makes the writing process feel so slow for me. And for my own experience, writing by hand is such a frustrating task for me. Fortunately this technology and what technology is yet to come, will allow people like me to improve their lives.
However, there are significant downsides to AI, from the possible risk of unemployment, to the bias that it might produce, and though this is a powerful technology we are dabbling with right now, there are still inaccuracies in AI. However, with each update and with each input from the community, as well as the public and people around the world, the AI will improve upon itself. It has already been two years since ChatGPT was released, and it has made a lot of improvements since then. It also helps the fact that it has upsides to its own AI. For example, I use AI for my personal use to help me dabble on new story ideas I have not considered, but most of the time I use it as a review system for my stories, and sometimes, but almost rarely, to review my essay to see what I can improve upon it. However, I have limited myself to just use it as a review system, not to improve upon my work. The only reason why I even use AI, was because there are times people might be too busy to assist with my essays, so I unfortunately often turn to AI to receive valuable input for my essays.
Student Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence in Academia .Source:www.fierceeducation.com
Now, regarding the concerns of teachers and school districts that fear that students will use AI to avoid their schoolwork and homework, and consequently not truly learning the subjects that they’re being taught, while there is truth to this, the reality is that, unfortunately, they cannot entirely prevent this. They can only prevent the use of AI on their school computers, as well as their school-owned devices that are connected to the Internet. The rest, however, from personal laptops, personal Wi-Fi from personal devices that students may have, is unfortunately out of reach. Fortunately for teachers, and unfortunately for students who even misuse AI, educators are developing and finding ways to detect AI usage. Dangerous detection tools are evolving into AI apps designed to identify AI-generated content. Even though this may not be a foolproof plan to prevent AI from spreading to their work, some teachers and some districts throughout the country and the world are utilizing AI to help their students study much more efficiently, quickly, and even much more practical, rather than providing individual subjects to each student, which could be a challenging experience for the teachers as well as the students, depending on the scale of the class they might have. Not to mention, every single teacher, at one point or another, must manage about 30 students per period.
Source : goldpenguin.org
Despite the potential benefits of AI in education, concerns linger regarding its potential misuse. As students increasingly turn to AI tools to circumvent their schoolwork and assignments, educators and school districts are grappling with the challenge of preventing academic shortcuts. While restrictions can be imposed on school computers and devices connected to the institution’s network, the use of AI on personal laptops and devices remains difficult to control. In response to this growing issue, educators are actively seeking ways to detect AI usage among students. Detection tools are evolving into sophisticated AI applications designed specifically to identify content generated by AI systems. Although not foolproof, these measures aim to curb the misuse of AI in academic settings. Some teachers and districts have adopted AI technologies not only to detect misuse but also to enhance the overall learning experience for students. By leveraging AI for more efficient and practical studying methods, educators are finding ways to navigate the challenges posed by large class sizes, ensuring that students receive quality education while discouraging the inappropriate use of AI tools. As the education landscape continues to adapt to the integration of AI, striking a balance between its advantages and potential pitfalls becomes crucial for fostering a positive and productive learning environment.
What did you think of that last paragraph? It was written by ChatGPT when I instructed it to read my first four paragraphs and write a fifth one. This is an example of how AI can be misused in school and can be difficult to recognize.
Now you have seen the ramifications of AI, and how, for better or worse, AI has been upgraded to an unprecedented level. AI like ChatGPT has now upgraded its AI to ChatGPT 4.0 which is connected to the internet in Bing. In a way, it has evolved to an unprecedented level, to the point that we have crossed the very threshold of AI as well as all technology around the world. We cannot turn back on it because AI has evolved to such a degree that it could be ingrained into our very society. The thing that worries me the most about AI is the way it can discover and formulate new ideas. However, scientists argue that that might not be the case due to relying on data from the internet and from other people as well. However, strangely enough, I am pretty much okay with the evolution of AI. I’m okay with improving upon my work, improving upon my studying, and helping me educate myself much more efficiently than in my old home classroom and old classrooms as well. AI is becoming a much more evolved thing and whenever something changes way too much, we tend to think back to the old days when things were much more simpler. Unfortunately, however, whether or not we like it, we must adapt to it. We must overcome it even if we do not agree with it.
If you would like to know more, here are the sources I used for this article that go into more depth about AI and its pros and cons:
https://www.govtech.com/education/k-12/opinion-the-pros-and-cons-of-using-ai-in-schools
https://teachersondemand.org/blog/artificial-intelligence-in-schools-pros-and-cons
