ChatGPT was released shortly after I finished high school. So my first meeting with AI in an educational setting was at university. My two first semesters I didn’t touch it at all but I was aware of it. I considered using it as cheating. At the time the recommendation by my university was to stay away from it. So I kept my distance. In my third semester in 2024 it seemed like there had been a big rise in use of ChatGPT by my peers. At first I dismissed them as being lazy. But a little doubt started to sprout, will I fall behind if I am the only one not using AI? This doubt is what I would like to reflect on for this week’s blog.
I think one can compare in some ways the use of tools like ChatGPT to the use of a spell check. Yes, not using it at all would help you keep up with your spelling. But using it can also help you save time, which can be used in other ways more productively. And if you are the only one not using spell check, then you might fall behind when using unnecessary time improving your spelling. Down prioritizing spelling and reeling on computers makes room for other important aspects of essay writing, like reflecting or storytelling.
But how comparable is this really to ChatGPT? On one hand I definitely see the comparison if I don’t have to use hours and hours of reading and understanding classical theory texts, then I can focus my attention on analysis or reflection. But using AI to summarize texts for your basic understanding puts a lot of power in AI. The AI can now control your basic understanding of classic literature and narrate the narrative. It also compromises your own critical thinking. And as an academic hopefully you reflect over your own bias as you read works of others. For myself I am very aware that I am a young white danish woman, and I also tend to lean more left politically. This is just some reflection. But which bias is behind AI? Where does the AIs understanding stem from? As far as I understand, AI tools like ChatGPT get their information from all over the internet, so it can be really unclear whose interest they reflect. Relying on AI as a learning tool gives a lot of power to AI and the people behind it.
There are definitely more aspects to this question, it is not like any learning tool we have seen before. But my concern was not so much about if it would help my learning but more so if it could help my academic performance. The time saved by AI tools could get me a very quick overview of the materials I needed to read. I found it easier to participate in class discussion when I used AI as a tool when reading. Mostly it comes down to time and patience. If I had more time and patience I would ideally read all text multiple times and take time to meet in person to discuss with peers. But often there simply was not enough time to do all that ChatGPT could. With the use of Chat-GPT I am fed the answers quite quickly but I am lacking the process to get there. That process, one could argue, is the most important part of academics. So even though I am learning less I have more answers. More answers might mean I participate in class more and I thereby get graded better or perform better in a presentation or written essay.
But if it is so clear to me that the use of ChatGPT mostly limits my learning in certain ways, why am I still using it in an unproductive way? I think this comes down to academic pressure and the fear of falling behind. If everyone around me is using a tool and prioritizing their time better then I will in comparison fall behind. I would not then be able to keep up with my peers. But is my fear fueled by reality or perception? Am I in my fear of falling behind actually creating the problem around me? When I am using AI tools like ChatGPT am I just doing to my classmates, what I fear they are doing to me?
I do think the answer is yes. If you are using ChatGPT in fear of falling behind, like myself, you are then a part of the problem. I don’t think all use of AI is the problem, but I do think we need to keep reflecting critically over our own use of it in an academic setting. And using tools like AI to set a higher standard of the amount of work that is possible to do as a student might be setting the younger generation of students up to fail. It creates a new world of academics where, like spelling tools, AI will become a necessity for the average student to use. I think that is important to remember. Do we want to attend university where you have to use AI to keep up with coursework?
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