Artificial intelligence (AI), an integral part of numerous industries, is automating the world.
Recently, AI has been driving into the field of education; for example, Khan Academy released their AI learning assistant Khanmigo, and Duolingo released an AI tutor as part of their premium subscription. According to reviews, these AI tutors have been moderately successful, receiving an eight out of 10 holistic rating, in teaching students concepts.
Both Khanmigo and the AI tutor from Duolingo are powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4. OpenAI is currently working on its upcoming GPT-5 and has recently released a guide for teachers to integrate AI into the classroom.
Will teachers accept the implementation of AI into classrooms? Do students want AI to be another resource they can use for help?
Sophomore Vrayas Pila looked at AI in education from two different perspectives. “Most teachers think that AI is a threat to learning. I believe it can be, but it also depends on how the student uses it,” Pila shared. “I believe that the right way to use AI is by asking it to explain something, understanding its response, and double-checking that response with google. If a student is being asked to apply a concept and copies his answer from ChatGPT, that is not learning, that is cheating.”
Jason Landa, PV teacher in the Math and Computer Science department, contrasted Pila’s opinions. “AI doesn’t help a student get better because they are not challenging themselves,” Landa stated.
Landa argued students using AI are not challenging themselves because they are letting the AI do the thinking for them, and ultimately not growing as a student.
Landa also remarked that AI at its current state is not developed enough to beat a human. “AI gives very cumbersome answers,” Landa expressed. “It is nowhere near replacing a person yet.”
The quality of the answers generated by AI are vague. These answers are not up to par with the expectations educators have of their students. Landa noted a professor who conducted an experiment to see if the students or the AI developed a better project. This experiment resulted in the students doing exceptionally better than the AI. This exemplifies how the human mind is more creative and nuanced than the AI’s that are currently available.
At its current state, AI has many pros and cons. As AI is evolving at a rapid pace, the possibility of AI being beneficial in the field of education is not too far away. Maybe, AI can be a resource to students while also making sure they are accountable of thinking of the concepts themselves.
