Using AI in School: Three Student Perspectives

Below are the collected thoughts of three students on using generative artificial intelligence (AI), like ChatGPT, in academics. For anonymity, the students interviewed will be referred to as Students A, B, and C. Student A is majoring in Film, but learning toward English, Student B is majoring in Economics and Business Administration, and Student C is majoring in Studio Arts. All are currently enrolled at West Valley. 

What does the average usage look like for you? 

A: “Yeah, if I'm having trouble generating an idea for something I'll usually ask for options, and then I don't directly copy and paste, but it'll help prompt an idea to where I go and do more research on something.

B: Probably at least once per week, at least. I used it for grammar checks, and instead of a thesaurus, I use AI to look for synonyms and antonyms, I use it to brainstorm, I use it for outlines, I use it sometimes to reword things when I can't say it the way I want to.

C: I've used it to summarize articles when I'm really pressed on time, but that's about it.  It's only when I'm running short on time. Otherwise, I'll do everything on my own.

What kinds of assignments do you do this for? 

A: Anything—I wouldn't say necessarily creative—but anything where it's involving a topic I'm not too well versed in and I don't have a general opinion on yet.

What's the most AI you've used on a single assignment?

A: Yeah, probably it was a critical journal for an ethnic studies course I did, but I dropped that course. I think it was the first one that I just didn't care to respond to. It seemed kind of useless, that's why I used it. It gave me the idea for what I'd write for the entire thing basically.

B: I think at some point in high school, there were probably a couple of discussion posts that I was like, oh, the due date is in five minutes, I gotta get this done. And I just put it in and, you know, changed a couple of things here and there, made it sound like me and I submitted it.

How well does it work for you? 

A: I'd say like half and half: sometimes well, sometimes not well. AI can only do so much, so I think it's good at prompting ideas but not writing stuff for you because it just doesn't sound human.

B: For the things that I use it for, it works very well. It's not super great at writing entire essays and whatnot, so I don't try to use it for that.

What do you not like about AI writing entire essays? 

B: I think AI is a better writer than me. And as a result, it doesn't ever sound like me. And it has excellent vocabulary. I consider myself to be somebody who has, you know, better vocabulary than the average person, but it's just too good. I can't measure up. So I try to keep it at a level that I think is capable for myself.

What would you not use AI for? 

A: Anything creative, like my creative writing class. I avoid AI just because [I think] that the whole purpose of that is to hear your own voice in it [and] that's like too much prompting for me. If it's creative I'd rather just use my own thinking, and also any English paper where I want to use my own critical thinking skills, I'd rather not use AI at all.

B: Big essays and stuff, other than for the outline. [AI is] not great at meeting word counts. It can't comprehend that. I remember I used it once to shorten something because I was over a word count. And it kept telling me it was one word count when it was really another. It just couldn't comprehend that because it's just language processing. It's not great at math.

Does using AI feel more justified in certain classes and subjects? 

A: Yeah I think for general ed classes it feels a bit more justified because it's classes I don't care about necessarily and I don't want to pour my energy into. If I have other classes that take up more of my time and thinking skills, I'd rather put my energy where it's most useful. But I would say all around it's probably not justified, but you know, I make excuses for those general ed classes that are more boring.

B: For sure. Going back to the math thing, there are some AI math programs that I've used before, but they were subscription based. I honestly think using AI for math is more justified because there's always a right answer with math. And sometimes it's really helpful knowing that exact right answer with the steps that AI can provide you before you can comprehend it and do it yourself. And in that aspect, I think 100% use AI, calculus is hard. But then in the respect of language processing, it has to be in some way, shape, or form your own words. So, yeah, definitely math–okay. Not so much for English.

C: I think so. I think when it comes to liberal arts type stuff, it’s not so good to use it, but in terms of chemistry or math, it's all very scientific and it feels a little bit more acceptable. In general I don't like it a ton, so I prefer to not use it, but if I had to pick one, I'd do more STEM-based stuff.

What makes it more acceptable in STEM-based classes?

C: When it comes to the arts and humanities stuff, a lot of it a robot can't mimic. Like it can mimic the emotions that humans have, but it can't understand that stuff. It can spit out something that feels philosophical, but it's just regurgitating information, so when you start to use that stuff in [assignments with] moral implications, that's when it can be trickier. But when it's just doing calculations for math, there's not a whole ton of consequences.

Does it feel like cheating at any point in the way that you use it? 

A: Yeah, well I feel like it's cheating at any point I use it because again it's just prompting ideas that I should be using my thinking skills for, so not necessarily just cheating for school but cheating like my own brain.

B: I mean, sometimes it feels like cheating, but I'm generally good about not cheating with AI in the sense that it's mostly my own work, with the exception of some words, some grammatical checks. So generally, no, I'm not cheating with AI.

Since you don’t use AI, what do you think counts as cheating when other people use it?

C: I've had people talk to me about using AI, and they've used it to almost do entire assignments for them. I think it is more acceptable when you're using it to make an outline for something that you're doing, but even then, you're not really coming up with those ideas yourself. Like if the AI is making an outline for you, it's not coming up with anything original, and you're not gaining the practice of it. If anything is gonna be acceptable, it's an outline, even though I don't prefer it. But writing assignments, essays, [and] discussion posts, I feel like that is when it gets definitely too far.

If somebody else in your class were to complete a full assignment using AI and get away with it, does that affect your learning in any way? 

A: Doesn't affect my learning, but I'll judge for sure. Depends on the class, though. Again, if it's like general ed, I don't really care but also I think we do have a problem with education right now [in] prompting our own ideas because of AI, so I think I'm progressively becoming more and more against it. But, it doesn't affect me when other people use it, no.

B: I think it's very circumstantial. That person, they could be the primary care provider for their family. They could be driving their siblings to school every day. They could be busy with other things. And so I get it that sometimes, you just don't have the time, and AI has made it really easy to get away with that. And in that respect, I think everybody deserves a few freebies. But if you're consistently using it for all of your assignments all the time for all of your work, then you're defeating the purpose of education, and you're just harming yourself.

C: I don't know if it personally affects me. I definitely [don’t feel] the greatest about it, because then, I don't want to say that it's diminishing other people's work, but in a way it kind of

is. AI is based on what other people have done, so you're using what other people have done to not do the work at all, and then you're gonna use that to get a good grade, where someone who is coming up with original ideas is getting maybe a worse grade. So you're being rewarded for not putting in effort or original thought. I think that can be a detriment, particularly with image creation stuff and AI art, in quotation marks. When you're using the AI, you are basically taking away that work from a real artist. So in terms of that, it definitely is diminishing the work of others, and it definitely can feel unfair.

Do you have any other thoughts to share about the state of AI? 

A: Well, not really, just that it's taking up jobs. I feel like the progression of AI is dangerous for certain jobs, the jobs I want to do specifically.

These students are in no way a representative sample of the West Valley student body, but they provide us a glimpse into the wide range of effects that generative AI is having on students’ lives. Students A, B, and C’s experiences vary, as certainly do yours. You may relate to one of these students more than the others. You may scorn all three. Regardless, it is vital that we take careful note of how AI is appearing in our lives, and the thoughts and feelings that it evokes on a daily basis. As lofty and vague as our big new questions about this frontier of technology may get, personal experience, in all its depth and superficiality, is ultimately what informs our choices. Any semblance of control over our collective future comes from our vigilance and thoughtfulness now. So take note.