If there ever was a hot topic of this generation—and there have been many—then the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is king among them. After years of movies and novels prophesying doom to come off the backs of the creation of machines that can think for themselves, the public is conditioned to be skeptical of the incorporation of AI. One especially hot topic of its use concerns  the classroom and the steadily growing interest in teachers and administration  applying it to a teacher’s curriculum.  

In response to the rising integration of AI writing in the workplace, schools are incorporating the usage of text-generating software and other AI tools into their curriculum. Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, many institutions around America have incorporated AI in some form or fashion, whether it’s the integration of chat assistants in campus websites to help prospective students and parents navigate the site, or even teaching them how to use it as part of a class.  

According to a survey by ATC Inc. for inbound college students, over 46 percent of surveyed high school students are already using generative AI platforms during their studies due to its ability to better condense information in a format that students could better understand. Not only that, but it makes formatting drafts a cinch for students to do if given the correct prompts.  

Here at Elizabethtown College, opinions are as equally divided on the topic as they are out in the rest of the world. While the fledgling integration of AI is a direct response to the greater awareness of its use among the student body, some students are concerned about it posing a serious threat to their job security and that it is only encouraging greater reliance on it.  

Discourse about the use of AI in the classroom does not extend to just faculty, however. Students are also concerned about the potential harm it could have on their individual creative processes.  

“It was well-demonstrated to us that AI prompt usage is a whole thing to learn and I personally did not know how to prompt it, nor did I want to rely on it,” fourth-year Judas Foster said when asked about the potential uses of it in a classroom setting. “Instead of fighting an algorithm to be creative for me, I’d rather spend that time I’d waste on being creative with my own ability. It’s attempting to optimize creativity, which shouldn’t even be possible.”  

However, experts say that preparing students for the eventuality where AI is the standard in the workforce is imperative for their futures. The need for better AI literacy among students is something that teachers recognize. According to a nationally represented EdWeek Research Center survey last November, most teachers have still not implemented AI in their classes. Although, their responses report a desire to do so once they become proficient in the technology to better train students in how to use it.  

Regardless, opinions on AI continue to be divided, and they will continue to be  for the foreseeable future. Even as progress marches on and artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, there will still be those worried about its use and the harm that could come from it.  

Though really, wouldn’t that be a positive thing?  

If programmers are taking those concerns to heart—for the sake of their employment if nothing else—then there’s always going to be firewalls in place to keep the worst-case scenario from becoming the scenario.