AI has taken a stroll through the schools, and its walk is only beginning. According to TechTarget.com, AI has been around since the early 1950s yet has evolved so much since then. AI is human intelligence done by machines and consists of computer systems. AI can be used to do a multitude of tasks like writing a story, creating conversations, generating art, and much more. There are also some downfalls to AI, the main one being students using it to cheat on their school work. 

Students have turned AI into a homework machine. They might use it to write their papers or solve their math problems. This creates a problem in the learning process for the students. Not only that, it is also considered plagiarism if students don’t apply their own authentic processes to the work.

College professor Ian MacInnes, at Albion College, said “We are thinking about writing assignments that require creative human thought. For example, writing assignments that require multiple drafts and a process of revision.” Professors may need to change their assignments so that the process is assessed rather than just the final product. Some teachers might allow students to use AI to write up a starting point for ideas. The student would have to change/add/remove certain parts that the AI had written. 

Teachers can tell when a student has used AI by the lack of evidence from the text, big words the student doesn’t know, and more. A teacher at Concord High School, Mrs. Osterhout explains, “As an English teacher you get to know your students’ writing styles.” When a student’s style changes significantly, this is the first thing a teacher notices.

Using AI has its consequences. The CHS student and parent handbook states “Plagiarism – Users may not represent as their own work any materials obtained on the Internet (such as term papers, articles, music, etc.). When using other sources, credit must be given to the copyright holder.”  

One student shared their experience with using AI to write their paper.  This anonymous student explained,  “I used it because I didn’t have any ideas, and I didn’t use the AI correctly.” The anonymous student shared some advice for students, “Use it if you need ideas, not write an entire paper.”

While it may be tempting to start with AI, students should make sure that they’re engaging in the writing process, asking questions, participating in peer editing, and utilizing the rubric. Teachers here at CHS would rather support students through the process and prevent plagiarism using AI or other sources.

We need to choose to use AI responsibly. Even if we need ideas or lose the motivation to do homework, learning experiences are more valuable than compromising our integrity by abusing these new technological tools.