With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it’s hard not to rely on software like ChatGPT and Gemini to do the hard parts of thinking for you. When you’re in a time crunch, using AI to generate an essay that’s due in 30 minutes seems like the easiest thing to do. However, AI may do more harm than good.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly helpful, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out how to use it. Someone, a long time ago, said something very smart: “All things in moderation.” When you use something as a crutch, you run the very real risk of relying on it to carry you entirely.
While AI was an exciting new and shiny thing at first, recent findings have shown that, while AI has its good aspects, there are some cons. It was taking these into account that helped me to change my mindset when it came to AI.
The Risks of AI
As AI models evolve, the training process can require around the equivalent carbon emissions of hundreds of American households annually. This same training can result in the depletion of our freshwater resources, with AI’s global water consumption in America projected to increase from 4.2 to 6.6 billion cubic meters by 2027.
Along with environmental concerns, certain aspects of AI may affect our cognitive abilities. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for instance, a study divided subjects into three groups while writing an essay: those who wrote it with ChatGPT, those who used Google’s search engine, and those who used nothing at all. The study found that the group using ChatGPT had the lowest brain engagement and performance, getting lazier as the months went on, eventually relying on copy-and-paste towards the study’s end. Another study found that the more time you spend talking to ChatGPT, the lonelier you feel.
The final nail in the coffin for me was realizing that the AI most people use for help with assignments, with all its vast knowledge, isn’t always that smart. At times, it gives completely wrong information. This would be fine — mistakes happen — if it weren’t for the impacts on our environment and brains. So much goes into training AI that, when it doesn’t work, its entire purpose is negated.
AI’s Unreliability
My professor recently gave an anecdote in which he asked ChatGPT to find him a couple of sources. These sources, when the link was clicked, didn’t exist. Earlier this year, scientists noticed a strange term appearing in over 20 published papers: “vegetative electron microscopy.” The strangeness of the term comes from the fact that it doesn’t exist.
ChatGPT’s tendency to make up information somewhat turns me away from the concept of leaning on it too heavily. Of course, all this information isn’t to completely turn you away from AI. It seems it may be impossible to avoid, and it may even be helpful to know. That being said, it’s important to be able to walk a certain distance without that crutch.
Change Your Mindset
The first step, then, on my mission of de-centering AI, was acknowledging its imperfection. Paying for tuition means I might as well get the most out of it, so I’m not relying on something else to do the bulk of my work. I want to actually learn things, so it’s important to realize that the things you think matter, and what you want to say matters; it’s worth hearing.
With this in mind, my next step was to reclaim my love for learning. Sometimes, though, it can be hard to fall back in love with learning when it’s something you have to do.
Incorporate Learning in Your Everyday Routine
I like to devote some downtime to learning about things I’m not obligated to. Sometimes this is a Wikipedia rabbit hole, sometimes it’s miniature TikTok lectures, and sometimes it’s incredibly specific videos on YouTube. To get myself back into the swing of using my brain, I’ll also read short stories or shorter books. Anything by Claire Keegan or, selfishly, anything with a pretty cover that I’d feel cool reading in public.
I also devote time to writing. Not an insane amount of time, and you don’t need to buy a nice journal or anything, but I write about my day, or that fat squirrel I saw, or why I’ll never watch a certain movie again. It doesn’t need to sound “good.” What are my thoughts, and how do I feel? Translating this enjoyment for writing into my schoolwork gives me the satisfaction that relying on AI took from me.
Something very annoying I realized quickly was that, unfortunately, planning makes all the difference. As someone who’s always struggled with procrastination and remembering deadlines, I find it difficult to focus on what I need to do. However, chipping away at an assignment bit by bit helps me avoid that last-minute cramming that I seem to always find myself doing.
Similarly, one big reason that I’m tempted to lean on ChatGPT is my fear of receiving a bad grade. To fix this, I remind myself that my professors prefer that I succeed. Sending them an email with questions or bringing a small draft of my work to office hours not only gives me the clarity I need but also offers the added plus of proving to my professors that I do exist and that I’m putting in the effort.
Find a Study Spot
Sometimes, as much as I hate to admit it, I need to romanticize my work. I can’t just work anywhere. While I do love FSU’s Student Union, that space is for eating and talking. As much as I try, I can’t lock in right next to Panda Express. If I’m in Dodd Hall, on the other hand, or Patchwork Coffee, or any floor of Strozier Library, I can immerse myself in whatever I’m doing. It’s all very Rory Gilmore-Hermione Granger-Dana Scully-Milo Thatch-Peter Parker of me.
Prioritize Knowledge
Again, I’m not saying to never use AI. In our rapidly changing world, it may be difficult to avoid. Although if you go to the gym with the intent of lifting weights, find and use a machine that lifts the weights for you, do you end up with any muscle growth at all? In an age where knowledge seems to constantly be behind a paywall, it’s important to understand that knowing things isn’t just for the people with money: it’s for you.
The knowledge of the world is yours to explore and apply. As difficult as things can seem, learning things for yourself can only help. Another applicable quote floating around with no sure origin, “You’ll never know if you never try.” Though cliché, it’s completely true. When you rely on something like ChatGPT to create information without doing the work yourself, you’ll never know the success that may follow.
There’s a separation from your own success that comes about with the reliance on AI to achieve that success: it’s an alienation from your accomplishments. You don’t need to shun AI completely, but take that success back and let it be yours to keep.
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