Don’t Use AI to Replace Thought
I spend a lot of my time at Colby’s central library, Miller, studying and completing assignments. It’s a pretty open space, which means that you can see what most people around you are doing. Usually, it’s homework. But I’ve been seeing something pop up on screens more and more frequently: generative AI websites.
Now, I don’t think AI is inherently evil or anything. I actually think it has the potential to do a lot of good, and it already has in fields like the biological sciences. I’m sure it could be used in tons of genuinely great ways if the big corporations working on generative AI were more human-focused than they are now. The way that AI is being used at Colby, though, is a bit concerning, to say the least.
“Just put it into ChatGPT,” I overhear someone behind me say. “It’ll give you the answer and you can copy what it does to ‘show your work!'” I can’t help but wonder why that student is taking whatever class they’re using ChatGPT for. They’re clearly not learning much if they’re not doing any of the work themself. I sometimes wish that I could swivel around in my chair and ask. “Why are you even here? Why are you going to college if not to learn?”
(And for some students, “What are you paying $80K per year for? To ChatGPT your way through your major?”)
College is for learning how to think. I don’t feel that this is a hot take. Using AI to get through your classes and to avoid doing the work is not going to help you learn how to think critically, evaluate sources, write papers, whatever else. I understand the problems with the American educational system and how grades are often valued over actual learning; I know a lot of us feel desperate for success, or constantly overwhelmed, or pressure from our peers or family, or afraid we won’t find a job.
That being said, using generative AI for your work is not the solution.
How would to know you graduated without doing the work you’re being credited and celebrated for? To know you haven’t learned any time management skills when trying to balance assignments? To know your family is celebrating how insightful your paper was that you didn’t even write? That you won’t have the skills needed for the jobs you’re cheating your way into?
Maybe I seem harsh. I’m not trying to say that any and all uses of AI are a personal moral failing. I just think that if you’re using it to avoid doing the learning you’re here (and often paying tens of thousands of dollars) to do, you should re-evaluate your priorities. Are you here for the grade, or the college experience and the learning that comes with it? Are you setting yourself up for future failure or incompetence? Try to be honest with yourself.
Maybe there are some valid uses of generative AI out there. But please, remember that you’re here to learn. Don’t replace your ability to think with a program.
Check out another great article about ChatGPT by a student at UC Irvine here.