The discussion of “the right way to use AI at school” is a hot topic at my house this summer. My kids asked me to write some thoughts down, as well as some tips for ways they might actually use AI in school. Since I’ve talked about AI here before, I thought I’d share it with all the teachers, parents, and anyone who talks to the next generation. In my experience, kids mostly want to do the right thing. Talking to them like we assume the best of them is a great way to build confidence and start a conversation off on the right foot.
A recent report revealed that at least 50% of students admit to using AI for schoolwork at least once a week. For undergrads, that number goes up to 75%. Clearly, “everybody is doing it.” It’s past time we talked about how to use AI as a student and hang onto your integrity while you’re at it.
Is using AI to do schoolwork always cheating? When are the times it might not be? How do you know the difference?
The simplest way to think about it is this: Would I ask AI to do this with my instructor looking over my shoulder? If the answer is “no,” then you probably shouldn’t use AI. If, however, you can come up with a way to use AI that might mimic something your teacher would do for you, then perhaps AI is ok.
There’s more to this question than just “What can I get away with?” So, let’s discuss whether or not AI involves cheating, and then I’ll give you some of my best tips for using AI with integrity in your schoolwork.
What’s at Stake?
When thinking about AI use at school, we must first define some terms. Let’s start with the big one:
Cheat: v. 1. to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud, 2. to elude or thwart by or as if by outwitting (emphasis mine)
Look at the first definition. What is the “something valuable” that you are deprived of by cheating? Answer: Learning.
One day, when you work in an office, your goal may become efficiency. In this case, AI will be your best friend. But currently, your office is “School,” and the goal here is different. Your goal is to gain something valuable – knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.
There’s something you need to remember about this particular goal of gaining knowledge: Learning is hard on purpose. The struggle is part of the process to attain your goal. If you’re looking to bulk up, you don’t just reach for 1-pound weights at the gym. No, you work your way up to the 30-pounders over time and with a lot of effort. If you want to sing opera, you have to do some training before they cut you loose with an aria. Learning requires effort. There aren’t a lot of shortcuts to wisdom and knowledge.
The second definition of cheating uses the term “outwitting.” This means “to get the better of” by finding a loophole. I suspect that many, many times, AI will offer you a loophole. “It’s not strictly forbidden,” your friend whispers, or you’ve found this new app the teachers can’t detect, etc. Whatever the loophole is, you’re bound to find ways to bend the rules.
Here’s the problem with a loophole – it’s not just technically cheating. It is cheating. It’s dishonest. And it unnecessarily wastes your time. How so?
Maybe you’ll spend less time on homework, but if you’re not learning anything and, consequently, you bomb an exam because you never really learned the thing you used AI for, then you just wasted your time in school. Put another way, you brought your tiny wrist weights to a Crossfit gym. You did not achieve your goal of gaining knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.
One day, you’ll graduate and be responsible for the knowledge you never really gained in your chosen field. When the boss expects you to “deliver an amazing solo” and all you can offer is an off-key version of “Baby Shark,” how embarrassing will that be for you?
The only person you cheat when you choose to take the easy way out is yourself. Your teachers will go on with their lives, secure in their integrity and actually Knowing Things of Value. Your odds of Knowing will be proportionately less every time you cheat.
So, is AI the devil? Probably not. Should you never use it? Meh. You’ll probably need to understand it and know how to operate within an AI world at some point. But now may not be your moment.
So How Do You Know?
Here are some questions to help you think through this in detail. Stay with me; I’ll give you a simple way to remember all of this when we’re done.
You’ve got an assignment. You’re thinking about using AI to get it done.
Think about it this way:
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What are your boundaries? Have you been given explicit instructions not to use AI in any form? If yes, step away from the pretty little chat box.
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Determine the end goal of any assignment. Is it to create new content? Explore an idea? Solve an equation? What are you being asked to learn within this assignment? If you don’t know, ask your teacher. I guarantee you they have a goal for every assignment.
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Based on this goal, is there any good reason you need a tool to help you?
“I procrastinated and only have 30 minutes to write a 10-page paper” is not a good reason.
4. Think about the best method to use AI tools in order to gain knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. What can AI do for you that no other tool or person is available to do? Notice how all of my examples are a bit complex. They involve you asking the right question of AI. None of these are simple uses for a tool where you plug in a question, and the answer magically appears. You’re better than that.
5. Ask the right question of your tools. Now that you know what you need it to do, how you pose the question is key. Talk to the AI like you would your teacher. You know that if you ask your teacher to help you solve a math problem, they will never just tell you the answer.So don’t even ask for that. Instead, you say, “Can you help me get started on this?”
Pro Tip: Be super clear with AI. The robots are a bit like toddlers, all hopped up on caffeine and trivia. You’ve gotta spell stuff out. Say, “Don’t tell me the answer. Just help me get started. How should I think about my first step?” The AI can take it from there.
6. Now, question everything you get from the ‘bots. AI hallucinates, makes bad choices, and gets stuff wrong. Not all of the time, but enough of the time that you should be suspicious. It’s like asking a B- student if you can copy their homework: Results may vary.
tl;dr
And, because I know you won’t read half of those words, I summarized it for you… all with my little own brain. No robots used. I really wish it spelled an actual word, but maybe having a little acronym will help you remember.
