Among students and staff, using artificial intelligence seems to be on the rise.  According to newsroom.collegeboard.org, 69% of students reported using ChatGPT to help with school assignments and homework.

A poll emailed to Randall students found that almost 6% of students use AI for almost every assignment. 

 “Very often assignments like Delta Math are often quickly bypassed with the use of AI’s like Gauth or ChatGPT,” freshman Kylee Webb said.

While a small percentage say they use AI on assignments consistently, 16% say they have never used AI  for assistance with work. Teachers said they have seen examples of this. 

“I have several students who are pretty against AI, and I think it’s for the same reasons that I am,” English teacher Rachel Huddleston said. “They value education, they value their own knowledge.” 

Generative AI has the ability to form different images, writing, and other creative work. Freshman Atlee Skaggs said he has concerns about the use of AI in school. 

“I do think AI can be used in a positive manner but only if it’s used for non-creative reasons because those ideas need to come from our own brains,” freshman Atlee Skaggs said.  “When we don’t use our brains, it makes us dumber, more likely to try less because we’re not being challenged.”

Not only do some believe that AI can negatively impact creative spaces, but it is also influencing spaces where humans previously dominated.  

“A lot of math is making decisions, taking the information and deciding ‘What do I do with that information?’” math teacher Casey Alley said. “If they’re putting that information into AI, what decisions are they making?”

Not only are there concerns with AI in school, but issues are being  expressed about its impact on society.  

“I worry about our long-term brain development as far as how much we can actually think through the process if we constantly are using things like Google or AI to answer all of our questions,” Huddleston said.

While many negative aspects have been observed, positive characteristics are conveyed. AI can be used for a variety of reasons, including study guides, notes and assistance. 

“I use AI to help me study for exams, and I use it to help me understand subjects I may know nothing about,” junior Gracelynn Simpson said. 

Teachers have also reported their uses of AI that include summarizations of different emails, inspiration for quiz questions, and making spreadsheets. 

“I’ve used it [AI]  when I needed some quiz questions, and I was kind of stuck on what I wanted to do,” Alley said. “I’ve used it more like inspiration when I got writer’s block.” 

AI is evolving every day, and will continue to do so. However, Huddleston said she is worried about humans’ long-term brain development. 

“We are giving away the one thing that makes us human,” Huddleston said. “We are giving it to a machine that doesn’t have the heart that we have or the ability to think empathetically.”