We’re in a time of increasing normalization of AI usage both in academics and for entertainment purposes, to an extent that I would have never believed just a year ago.
The number of times people casually mention in class or in passing how they will be using AI for an assignment is genuinely so jarring to me. At least a few years ago, when people cheated, there was some level of creativity and effort. The amount of classes I’ve been in where people are actively on ChatGPT asking for answers is so shocking. I’m not trying to lecture about the importance of college or even the importance of using your privilege to have an education however, I truly do not understand how people can not be filled with guilt for not only submitting plagiarized content, but also consciously choosing to submit said content which will be compared and graded alongside work that students actually dedicated time and effort to finishing. This is arguably a huge testament to the major decline in intellectualism and empathy in our generation. Why should you, who has put zero work in, be given the same grades and respect as someone else who actually does contribute? It’s actually insane.
And the worst part is, I really think some people don’t see it this way. I don’t know if these people have convinced themselves that somehow they have it harder than those who manage to do their own work, or if they just think it doesn’t matter that others will be held to the same academic standards as them. I truly don’t know.
It’s incredibly difficult for students opposed to AI to remain motivated and not be tempted by these resources when you know that the majority of people around you are using them. How are you supposed to stay motivated to actually put in effort when others in the same classes aren’t? I mean, at the end of the day, grades will reflect what they reflect, and you can hardly prove that you deserve the grade more, so motivation to do your work just has to be intrinsic at this point to be sustainable.
I also find it just as discouraging to hear something along the line of, “Oh well, I just use it to explain the content to me, then I do the work.” … So you use it for the most critical part of learning?
Utilizing it for recreational activities and making basic decisions is almost worse than using it for completing assignments in a way, though; at least cheating is something that has always existed. Now people can’t even think for themselves. You simply do not need to have conversations with ChatGPT, which is not alive, about your boyfriend, who is. I’m not even beginning to discuss the significant environmental footprint that AI leaves behind to generate meaningless content. It is so discouraging to see people fall into the trap of using AI as a replacement for creativity.
“Oh, it will make art easier. I’m not good at art.” That’s the point! Art is supposed to be a representation of human effort and struggle; taking away the difficulty and humanity of a craft such as art is stripping it of its significance. Like, no, I don’t want to see an AI-generated photo of your dog as a human … genuinely, what are we even saying?
Not to mention, AI is actively putting people out of jobs and completely destroying creative fields. Even considering my future, I’ll likely be a teacher in less than five years, and by the time I get there, I’m not even sure if any of my students will be able to produce a legible paragraph on their own. That is SCARY. And, the fact that people aren’t scared is even scarier.
