In schools and our daily lives, generative artificial intelligence has come into the picture in many ways. Generative AI is being used to create assignments, look up answers, and serve many other useful purposes.
People use artificial intelligence in their daily lives without even realizing it. For example, reactive artificial intelligence is in products like Alexa or Siri. Reactive AI responds to demands without learning from past interactions. Generative AI is used in things like Snapchat AI and ChatGPT. Generative AI helps students find answers and solutions to questions across various subjects. It is also used for things like image creators. There are many websites that allow you to create any image or scene by simply typing in a request. Predictive AI is used to create algorithms for platforms like TikTok and YouTube. Predictive AI uses past experiences of a user to predict the best possible suggestions for the future.
There are also three different types of AI in schools. Student-focused AI is used in tutoring systems, automatic writing, and chatbots. Many educational websites like CK-12 or Khan Academy use chatbots and AI to help students expand their knowledge. Teacher-focused AI helps with lesson planning or creating assignments. Intuition-focused AI is used by colleges and universities for things like scheduling and assisting with the application process. Some states may also use AI to analyze state test scores or determine school funding.
A study from The Center for Democracy and Technology found that the use of AI in schools went from 32% to 83% between the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years. Out of the same study, 59% of teachers surveyed stated that at least one of their students had used generative AI, such as ChatGPT, for school purposes. In another study, 71% of teachers said they had not received any professional guidance on how to use AI in the classroom.
Junior Haley Woodling comments, “I think AI benefits and harms me. It’s good to use to get answers so I can turn in assignments that I don’t know how to do. It’s bad for me because I don’t take the time to learn the concepts, and I’m unable to use it on tests.”
Teacher Sadie Dickson states,
With technology advancing every day, AI will continue to evolve and change as well. This also means that the use of AI in schools and at West Branch will be changing along with it. The use of AI could eventually have a positive or negative effect on learning, depending on whether it’s used in the right circumstances.
