Have you ever used artificial intelligence? Have you ever been aware that you’ve used artificial intelligence? Artificial intelligence, more commonly known as AI, is the simulation of human intelligence processed by machines and computer systems. AI was brought to life in 1956, but really took off in the 1980s. AI can be used to assist with machine learning, help people online, cyber security, etc. It can also give students complete and thorough answers to their homework in less than a second. 

Imagine a world in education where students never have to think about an assignment ever again and can have it completed and 100% accurate with the push of a button. With the rise of artificial intelligence in schools, this world is a lot closer than we think.

After polling 50 students at Prairie High School, 16 of them answered “yes” when asked if they have ever used artificial intelligence on an assignment for school. 2 students from each grade at PHS were interviewed and asked that same question, to which half of the students stated “yes,” and all of them have gotten away with it. Out of these 8 interviews, there were some mixed opinions from students when they were asked “Do you think artificial intelligence has a negative or a positive effect on students, and why?”

A sophomore boy at Prairie High School stated “positive for sure” when asked this question. After being asked why, he said “because it does my assignments for me.” This artificial intelligence feature may seem great at first, but really it’s making students overly reliant on it, and deteriorating their ability to think critically and independently. 

A senior girl at PHS responded that she thinks AI in schools is negative, because “students are only cheating themselves.” She stated that it damages a student’s work ethic and students can grow reliant on artificial intelligence. 

Some students at PHS can see both sides of the use of artificial intelligence. A sophomore girl stated that AI is “negative if it’s used to cheat, but doesn’t harm anyone otherwise.” She then stated that artificial intelligence still decreases a student’s work ethic, because “you can just look up homework answers whenever you feel like it without having to do any work.” 

With the rise in popularity of artificial intelligence in schools, some great things will happen. Students will never receive a bad grade again, will never have to worry about getting their homework done, won’t have to deal with the stress of assignments weighing them down, and in turn, will have more free time to do whatever they want. This all sounds great, and artificial intelligence can give students just that, but at what cost? Students will never have to think critically again, never have to problem solve, never come up with a creative idea, and in return never “have” to learn again if they don’t want to, all because of artificial intelligence.