For years, professors have complained that students aren’t properly doing their work. In the past two years, with the rise of artificial intelligence, this seems more real than ever.
Students opt for Google AI summaries and bite-sized chapter summaries rather than actually reading for their classes. Research and reading aren’t happening anymore; we, as people, would rather take the easy way out and cut corners in our academic journey rather than put in a little extra work and gain a deeper understanding.
I would be lying if I said that I have never fallen victim to this trap. I’ve personally relied on AI summaries and summarized chapters that I was supposed to read for class. It’s easy, it’s convenient and it’s leading to an overall cognitive decline.
Aside from the fact that you aren’t putting in the work to learn anything yourself, the facts that AI presents are often blatantly wrong. “A new study has found that 52 percent of the popular chatbot’s answers to computer programming questions contain inaccurate information.”
While Google AI seems like the better option in comparison, in a study done by Mashable, “1 in 5 AI Overviews returned an inaccurate or misleading answer.” So many students, including myself on more than one occasion, rely solely on these Google summaries for information.
I have seen AI used primarily in research and reading, even among fellow English majors. While most students are aware enough to know that fully using generative AI to write papers and complete work is cheating, many students see summarizing texts and not putting in the actual work as a shortcut and a tool, rather than cheating.
In a survey done by the Digital Education Council and summarized by Campus Technology, “The majority of students (86%) said they use artificial intelligence in their studies.” Not only are they using it in their studies, “Twenty-four percent reported using AI daily; 54% daily or weekly; and 54% on at least a weekly basis.”
This is terrifying for the students of our generation. If we rely on AI this much, then we aren’t truly learning anything, which leads to concern about the capabilities of the people who will be operating in and playing a role in our society. Would you trust your doctor if you knew that they had used AI throughout their studies?
In a study done by MIT and summarized by Time Magazine, “ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.”
Personally, I have felt this. There have been times when I relied on AI for assistance with work, and after that, I have felt unable to do anything on my own. It’s incredibly easy to rely on AI once and then never look back. It’s leading to an overall cognitive decline, and our critical thinking skills are diminishing.
Before you procrastinate your work for something more fun, and then rely on AI to do your work for you because you don’t have the time, consider the impact it has.
Lauren Douda is a sophomore English and secondary education major from Lexington, South Carolina. Lauren can be reached at [email protected].
