AI and Schoolwork
AI is everywhere these days – in the news, in conversations, even at school. But how does it impact your learning? This blog explores the good and the bad of AI for students.
What is AI?
AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. Imagine it like an assistant that learns from experience. AI learns by going through loads of data online. Similar to how Netflix or Spotify learn what you like by looking at what you’ve watched or listened to and suggesting similar things to you. AI uses the data to find information, find patterns, and make predictions.
AI in our lives
Artificial Intelligence has existed for a while. Voice assistants like Siri and Alexa use AI. If you’ve ever used an online help chat on a website, this is AI. When TikTok and Instagram suggest content you might like, they use AI to analyse your activity.
In the past, Artificial Intelligence was used mainly by big technology companies, but now anyone with access to a phone or computer can use it. Tools like ChatGPT and Gemini by Google are types of generative AI, which means that they can create new text, images, and even audio.
Artifical Intelligence in education
One of the most important skills you learn at school is how to think critically. This means knowing where to look for information and knowing if a source is reliable and trustworthy. When you ask ChatGPT a question, it pulls information from a variety of sources online and creates a neat answer that looks good. The problem with this is that you don’t know where the information comes from, and it could be false or outdated.
The style of writing that AI uses makes things look very reliable and convincing. Sometimes, you’ll read through the answer it’s given and realise it makes no sense. A good test for this is asking ChatGPT a question about a topic you know quite well, such as your favourite football team or where you live. If you read the answer, you might see that some of the things are either false or don’t make a lot of sense. Teachers will be able to spot things like this easily, so it’s best to be cautious.
Your brain vs Artificial Intelligence
Another thing to think about is how you use a combination of your creativity, knowledge, and experience to answer questions. For example, if someone asked, ‘Why did the Titanic sink?’, some people would answer this question with historical facts, while others would answer the question with a physics-based answer about what causes ships to sink. You would know how to tailor your answers depending on the task and what you have learned already, whereas AI doesn’t know this.
It’s tempting to use Artificial Intelligence for schoolwork: simply input a question and get a seemingly excellent answer, perhaps even better than your own. It might seem boring, but there’s a reason why teachers set specific tasks and questions. Compare the mental effort required to complete a task with and without AI. Applying your knowledge is the best way to learn and get extra help with things you’re not sure about. Putting effort into completing your work will help you in the long run and when it comes to your end of year exams or test, you will have to rely on what you have learned.
Making AI work for you
The key point when it comes to using AI is using it responsibly. It can be a great tool that can really work for you if you use it in the right way. The UK government has been conducting research into Artificial Intelligence and how it could be used to improve the education system. There are a lot of possible benefits such as providing personalised support to pupils and using AI to free up teachers’ time.
You can ask AI to rephrase a question or explain it more simply. This is a great benefit for many students. AI technology can be used to help disabled children in the classroom with features such as text-to-speech and other things that improve accessibility. If you learn better by listening to something, you can even use AI to create a podcast out of your study notes. There are loads of possibilities, but AI isn’t perfect and it still needs human guidance to work well. By being smart about using Artificial Intelligence, we can make the best use of it.
