Pa. (WJAC) —With the new school year underway, the use of AI continues to increase in classrooms across the nation, not just by <a href="https://bitcomme.com/nyc-public-schools-to-ban-generative-ai-for-students-in-elementary-and-middle-school/” title=”NYC public schools to ban generative AI for students in elementary and middle school”>students, but by professors as well
Many university classes, including some at Penn State, have shifted their stance on AI use from a total ban of the technology to now allowing it as a helpful tool.
The use of AI in the classroom is a rapidly changing and sometimes confusing topic that universities like Penn State are having to navigate and decide what’s best for their students as they prepare for a workforce in which AI tools are being used more and more as well.
“We were concerned that people who are going through school and not learning how to use AI might be at a loss when they go into certain industries where it’s become very common to use AI,” said S. Shyam Sundar, director of Penn State’s Center for Socially Responsible AI.
While some classes are now allowing the use of AI, some students are pushing back, saying they’ve survived this long without it, and don’t plan on using it now.
“On Canvas, they have an artificial intelligence tool kit of some sort, and basically it’s teaching students how to use AI in the normal classrooms and in daily life, to be beneficial. I have not taken a look at it because I don’t plan on using it,” says Penn State senior Makayla Lowery.
Although popular AI programs like ChatGPT can be quite convenient and certainly speed up assignments, many students like Makayla feel it can also take away from their education.
With the use of AI and just how easily accessible it is, it’s not allowing people to look and actually do their own research and information and have the passion for learning that I know I had when I was younger. People just don’t read books, they don’t look at maps, they don’t fall into the rabbit hole of certain things and want to find their own information when all you can do is even just do a Google search and the first result is AI.
The director of Penn State’s responsible AI use center adds that he does worry about the effects that delegating more and more tasks to artificial intelligence will have on our brains.
“Our minds stop thinking about certain things, and certain parts of our brain get atrophied, just like if you don’t use a muscle very often and that muscle gets atrophied.”
He says that the university’s goal is to not ignore AI, but to teach students to use it in a responsible manner that still allows them to exercise their own thoughts and creativity.
“You can use it to stimulate ideas, but then you have to bring your ideas in. The key element is for students to be aware of the boundary between AI’s contribution and their contribution.”
Penn State does not have an overarching policy about whether or not students and professors should be using AI, however the university says it supports the responsible exploration of the technology.
