PRO:

Having an artificial intelligence (AI) presence in schools presents a multitude of opportunities for students and teachers. Although some teachers may disagree, AI allows students to receive immediate assistance from chatbots, improving their overall academic experience. Not only that but AI can be very beneficial to teachers because it can personalize learning for students, making lessons, assignments, and homework more in tune with what students need.

Students sometimes fear asking questions or go out of their way to avoid asking questions to their teachers. Also, they might have follow-up questions but are either home or unable to connect with their teacher, which results in those students needing to fully grasp the content. This problem can be easily avoided with AI chatbots that are consistently available, and that can answer the questions students have. According to Claire Bryan of The Seattle Times, “Artificial intelligence can serve as a tutor, giving a student who is struggling with a problem immediate feedback.” This exemplifies how AI is a beneficial tool for students and can help them with content they struggle with.

Teachers can also benefit from the use of AI in classrooms. Teachers try to personalize and sculpt their lessons to fit the needs of their students, but some students still have a hard time connecting to content. This is where AI can help, as it can add in further personalization. According to a piece published by Walden University, “By analyzing student performance data, AI-powered tools can determine which students need support to improve their learning experience, and the best ways to help those students.’
One area that concerns schools with AI is cheating. Schools can prevent cheating via AI by using more in-depth assessments and taking a look at how they frame assignments, according to an article by Elizabeth M. Ross of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Ross spoke to Houman Harouni, a lecturer at Harvard who believes that AI chatbots only pose a risk if teachers don’t adjust to the times. Harouni told Ross, “Tools like ChatGPT should really challenge teachers and professors to reassess the assignments they give their students. You have to stop thinking that you can teach exactly the way you used to teach when the basic medium has changed.”

Though there are some global concerns with AI, it shouldn’t be a concern in schools. While issues such as cheating and the harm that it brings is a negative for students, AI can be regulated and monitored in such a way that it benefits students by providing standby tutoring and support. It can also help teachers understand where their students stand on specific content.

CON:

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been evolving for years and is involved in many aspects of our lives today. While much of what AI does for us today can be interpreted as helpful and even essential in many ways, its impact on schools seems more problematic than helpful.

In schools, AI can be used by students in a variety of ways that negatively affect them and their learning. For subjects like English, students who are assigned writing tasks can simply use websites like ChatGPT to tell it to write them an essay and the students don’t have to do any work. Students who utilize AI to do their work don’t learn from this action; it does not make students smarter, it makes them lazier since artificial intelligence does all the work for them.

Many of the tasks that students are assigned in their classes can be done by letting AI do the work for them, which turns an assignment that could take days into one that takes seconds. While that sounds good for students, it is, ultimately, bad for them. Students aren’t learning what it takes to be an actual writer or researcher when they take this kind of shortcut. By not having to plan, write, and edit their work students don’t develop an understanding of what it truly means to be a student. For example, on writing assignments, students are expected to find and use sources, paraphrase or use direct quotes, and organize their work. With AI, all of this is lost.

Siena Mahdi of the Los Angeles Times talks about the problems of AI in schools with an eye on students. Madhi states, “Students gain problem-solving skills and work ethic from completing assignments in their academic careers that prepare them for their futures. Relying on AI to complete these tasks where they should be learning can be dangerous for individuals in the long run when they have no ability to think independently.” Mahdi points out that students gain skills and work ethic from completing assignments and that reliance on AI impacts this significantly.

Other issues that AI brings to schools are bias, a lack of fact checking, and a dehumanized learning experience. Students who use AI content that is not checked for accuracy or that comes from biased sources are not getting strong or even accurate information. Dianne Adlawan of Class Point writes about the dehumanization and bias aspects of AI stating, “With AI algorithms generating content and deciding the pacing of the lessons, students may miss out on the nuanced approach that a human teacher can offer. Additionally, AI algorithms can perpetuate bias, meaning that they may fail to provide an inclusive and diverse curriculum that is tailored to the needs of every student.” Aldawan, and others, worry that AI might affect how students are taught, with teachers relying on AI content that takes away the teacher-student connection.

We use AI a lot in our lives; but due to the uncertainty of how it might affect students in schools it should be closely monitored or avoided.