According to Education Week, 58% of high school students have used generative artificial intelligence (AI) before. Students like G.L. use Chat GPT, an AI that can produce human-like writing when given a prompt, to complete their essays. Photomath,Grammarly, and Chat GPT are forms of AI that are used by students. Photomath is an app that can solve an equation and provides a step-by-step tutorial on the problem. Grammarly corrects grammar, punctuation and checks student’s work for plagiarism.
In the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS), plagiarism can result in “support and removal responses” for a student. HCPSS classifies the use of AI as plagiarism, stating: “Plagiarism, using the work or ideas of others, may also include the use of Artificial Intelligence writing programs without proper acknowledgment, giving the false impression of original authorship,” in the The HCPSS Code of Conduct.
Nationally, leaders debate over AI use on the larger front. According to an article from “The New York Times,” “A group of industry leaders warned on Tuesday [May 30th ] that the artificial intelligence technology they were building might one day pose an existential threat to humanity and should be considered a societal risk on a par with pandemics and nuclear wars.”
According to sophomore Evan Macmillan, the effects of AI are seen in high schools, with students becoming “less independent” as they use AI to complete their assignments.
English teacher Ms. Stoltz says using AI can “negatively impact” students. “Ultimately, the consequence of AI is the consequence of any tool that takes thinking away from the individual,” said Ms. Stoltz. “If we don’t learn how to critically think, how to solve our own problems, how to articulate ourselves… we’re inherently less prepared for being successful in the real world.”
When a student presents AI’s work as their own, it is plagiarism, according to Ms.Stoltz. “If a student were given an essay and then they plug all of the information into AI to write it out and then turn it in and then pretend they wrote it, that’s absolute plagiarism,” she said.
However, students like freshman Z’rae Black believe AI helps students understand content. Students can learn what they may not be comprehending during class through Photomath, she says.“If you don’t understand, look at
Photomath and see how you got the answer,and you get what they did to [solve the problem],” Z’rae said.
Although some students and teachers agree that AI has the potential to be a helpful tool, they believe there should be limits to the use of AI in school.“Eventually, AI is going to be everywhere. We should adapt to it in the learning environment,” said Evan. According to Ms Stoltz, students should be taught how to use AI in a “beneficial” way in schools.
“The world is going to have AI in it,” Ms. Stoltz said.”[The education system’s] goal is to prepare students for accessing the world after high school.”
English teacher Ms. Curtis says she discusses the uses of AI with her classes to encourage her students to use it as an “effective tool” instead of for “cheating.” But, Junior Kaiden Jacobs says that when AI does a student’s work for them, the learning being done by the student decreases. “Why are [students] going to want to learn at all when they could just plug [their work] into [AI]?” he said.