Artificial intelligence contains a variety of systems to assist in educational tasks, such as Grammarly and QuillBot, the free and downloadable AI writing assistants that guide students through proper grammar, punctuation, paraphrasing, and even notifies the user when there is potential plagiarism. There are multiple virtual assistances that are free to utilize for students, among the most popular being ChatGPT. This platform is rightfully praised for the array of support that is offered to those who use it, like immediate feedback, personalized learning experiences, the generation of notes on specific subjects, customized performance analysis, mock quizzes for studying efficiency, as well as making learning easier for people with disabilities. The article "Artifical Intelligence (AI): Is Artificial Intelligence Good for Society?" provides a key point on the topic when it claims, “The calculator did not signal the end of students’ grasp of mathematics knowledge, typing did not eliminate handwriting, and Google did not herald the end of research skills; AI does not signal the end of reading and writing or of education” (“Artificial Intelligence (AI)”). It is crucial to understand that the existence of AI technology is not the core issue at hand, as there are many ways in which students can utilize artificial intelligence to improve their academic skills.
While artificial intelligence offers many ways to enhance learning and is recognized for its technological advancements, there are rightfully many concerns surrounding the risks of AI models. Algorithmic bias, data and privacy, potential cheating and plagiarism, technical concerns, costs of implementation, and misinformation within these systems pose real threats to the use of AI. (“Pros and Cons of AI”). Artificial intelligence is still a relatively new technology that is constantly undergoing changes and updates, and the concerns with proper regulation are among the many mixed opinions with AI technology in educational settings. AI programmers and developers continue to face challenges with regulating AI systems due to the speed at which artificial intelligence is evolving, along with the complexity of AI models making it difficult to establish proper regulation protocols (Garnett). These challenges create a lack of trust within the education sector, resulting in many risks for both students and educators who utilize it. Additionally, students will not be able to critically evaluate information provided by artificial intelligence if it is outdated, biased, or overall incorrect.
Algorithms, a procedure that aims to answer a question or solve a problem within a fixed number of steps (algorithm), have become a topic of concern due to algorithmic bias in AI learning models. AI-generated software relies heavily on algorithms to sort through massive amounts of data from various sources, but only in the scope of what it has been trained to retrieve. Lorraine Bennet and Ali Abusalem make a stark observation towards algorithmic bias when she states, “Its [AI] response is only as accurate as the information that it has been exposed to” (Bennett and Abusalem 202). Emphasizing that the information provided through AI’s personalized learning models can potentially be outdated, lacking in depth, or generally inaccurate, as the systems in which AI searches are limited to the program that trained it.
By relying on artificial intelligence in education, students may inadvertently contribute to a fixed mindset approach to learning and further diminish their academic capabilities. A fixed mindset is a common approach in education that is usually perceived by students as viewing academics or intelligence as unchangeable or “fixed” and cannot be further developed through learning. In a research study conducted by Elissa Farrow in 2020, she explains the thoughts of some of her participants when she states how they “expressed enthusiasm for the 'reduction of boring’ or ‘dehumanising’ work” and “‘let AI do the boring stuff’” (Farrow 901). When in the context of employment, this can be seen as an extraordinary advantage in the workplace. When putting this same mentality into the minds of college students, it reinforces the idea that effort and dedication do not result in success. Mark Massaro, an English professor at the Florida Southwestern State College, makes the claim, “The academic struggle for students is what pushes them to become better writers, thinkers, and doers. Like most positive outcomes in life, the important part is the journey” (Artificial Intelligence (AI)”). This statement emphasizes the benefits that come with students being challenged in education, which cannot be properly executed if artificial intelligence is at the forefront of their minds when they begin to struggle. If students have an outlet that allows them to eliminate the need for actual problem solving, it only enables a fixed mindset by giving students the impression that they will not be able to succeed without AI assistance.
To effectively prevent an overreliance on artificial intelligence and reduce the risk of depleting academic skills, collaborative efforts are necessary to ensure there is a balance in the use of AI in college settings. The use of AI technology in higher education settings is becoming increasingly prevalent and will only continue to grow as these systems progress, highlighting the need for solutions to prevent dependency. Training and education in artificial intelligence is key to providing insight into the benefits and risks associated with AI models, as well as decreasing the level of tension and concern surrounding AI technology in the education sector. In a study conducted by Thomas Jeffrey at Campbellsville University, he states that “Awareness of AI is not the same as being informed about AI, and the latter seems to be the most significant in the call for caution” (Jeffrey 12). There is a clear difference between being aware of AI’s existence and being properly educated on AI’s strengths and weaknesses, as being informed would lead to efficient decision-making.
This topic is still relatively new and requires much more research to find direct correlations between the overreliance of artificial intelligence and academic skill depletion in students. Despite this fact, I was able to gain a vast amount of knowledge about AI technology that I can now carry with me in the future. Because this topic was so fresh, there were many times where it became a challenge to find sources that either supported or argued against this claim, and many of the sources that were found provided supporting evidence for the topic rather than finding studies that directly encompassed AI and the depletion of cognitive skills. Overall, this research was extremely beneficial for me to broaden my own perspectives and fully understand what makes AI technology so revolutionary, as well as making my own informed decisions when utilizing artificial intelligence.
As you continue on your journey to research more about this topic, keep in mind that you will not always find sources that perfectly align with your topic, and that is simply part of the process. The deeper you dive, the more you will find, and that is the beauty of research. Below are some helpful tips to keep you on track:
Find your main keywords and get more specific as you go. Once you have a clear list of keywords that resonate the most with your topic, use more specified phrases to narrow down your searches. In this stage, it is one of the few times you can "go off topic" in order to find a multitude of perspectives and come up with new ideas. Have fun with it!
Keep your preferred databases in mind. There will be many databases to choose from, and some will be extremely valuable while others will provide little to nothing. It is important to find different types of sources, such as data statistics, research studies, peer-reviewed articles, encyclopedia entries, and historical data, all of which will provide layers of evidence to support your claim. You won't know which databases will be most beneficial until you test them out, so don't be discouraged if you don't find something. There are always other options to choose from; use them to your advantage.
Cite any and all sources you find that may be helpful. Not only will this benefit your future self by starting your works cited early and keeping all of your sources in one place, but it is much easier to delete the ones you don't end up using than it is to search for extra sources as you work on your guide.
Be mindful of biased language in your sources. While this was not too much of an issue in my research in particular, it is always important to search for sources that are transparent and avoid personal opinions.
| All Content CC-BY. |
|
