In the past two years the education system has faced yet another challenge. The rise of AI software is capable of writing essays, completing worksheets, and so many other things that are the majority of a student’s job. Furthermore, ChatGPT is free and available to anyone with an internet connection. Due to the wide accessibility of AI, many students have started using the software to write their essays instead of putting in the work themselves.
According to the Education Weekly, 60% of teens consider using AI for schoolwork as cheating, but a nationally representative survey conducted by the research firm, Big Village, in July, displayed that more than 4 in 10 teens are likely to use AI to do their work instead of doing it themselves. When students were asked at Richard Montgomery High School if they believed many of their peers used ChatGPT or other AI systems to complete assignments, the overwhelming answer was a definite yes.
“It’s easy and accessible and I know people do it,” RM sophomore Brooks Hogan said.
Many teachers and students believe that this could have serious impacts both on the students and the future of education.
“It takes away from your actual academic experience. It’s just a get away from learning because people think academics is just about the work and chat gpt just makes that bit easy but you don’t actually learn,” sophomore Vaughn Carvell said.
AI also proves to not be 100% correct as it is common for users to receive inaccurate answers. According to the New York Times, ChatGPT may sometimes produce harmful and biased content. There is a large risk of completely misinterpreting a topic as many students cannot separate false information from valid information.
Although AI software can be used for beneficial purposes and time management, some students disagree with the positive outcomes of relying on these softwares.
“I think [ChatGPT] is just for cheating we’re kind of using it as like ‘it’s just helping us’ [but] as an excuse, or ‘it’s not coming from a real person’ as an excuse to not feel bad,” RM senior Grace Diaz said.
While plagiarism has frequently been an issue in school, ChatGPT aids this process by creating unique essays almost every time. MCPS has always had a very strict policy against plagiarism and seems to be updating their teachers on ways to stay vigilant against ChatGPT. However, most students still believe that AI is too powerful to overcome.
“There is not much the county can do because kids will still have access to it if they have a personal device,” Hogan said.
There have also been other solutions suggested that have more to do with changing the curriculum for example to use ChatGPT as a resource or make less of a need for ChatGPT.
“I think they could make curriculums more engaging in terms of less busy work,” Carvell said.
Written by Maggie McLaughlin of Richard Montgomery High School
Graphic by Samiya Mirakbar of Walter Johnson High School