Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Simon Olech.
Artificial intelligence has been taking the world by storm, beginning a whole new technological revolution that has already influenced tens of millions of Americans and encouraged hundreds of billions in corporate investments.
A recent Elon University poll found that over 50% of Americans now use large language models like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, some of the most popular artificial intelligence resources in use.
As a student, I can validate these findings.
When ChatGPT was released almost three years ago, many of my classmates and I quickly adopted artificial intelligence as part of our daily routine, using it for tasks like summarizing texts and exploring topics that would normally require far more time and effort. My phone now includes a quick access button linked directly to Perplexity AI's voice mode, allowing me to directly open the app and verbally ask questions or verify comments.
An OpenAI report confirms this trend, finding that three in four college-aged users desire to use AI in their education and career.
Personally, my work and education has greatly benefited from this technology, as I am able to selectively choose the AI most applicable to my research and generate clear, yet expansive information on any subject that interests me, all without cheating or stealing information.
But, as everyone who pays even the slightest bit of attention to the news knows, there are plenty of valid concerns associated with artificial intelligence and its uses.
Dr. Peter Sadowski, an Associate Professor at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, has been examining this issue. His work focuses on machine learning and artificial intelligence, specifically how to use these methods to address the most challenging problems in science and engineering.
As a teacher, Dr. Sadowski has noticed a massive shift in the way AI has transformed education as we know it.
"With these language models, it is just so easy for students to take an assignment and run in through ChatGPT and get results," he told The Daily Wire.
"It can write an essay, it can solve a programming assignment, it can solve math assignments. That is just a huge shift."
In response to this new challenge, Sadowski made some changes to his teaching model.
"The first week ChatGPT went live, I immediately abandoned take-home tests, since ChatGPT could just do all the questions ... Most schools have some evolving AI guidances and policies, but the best way to learn is to experiment to become familiar with the capabilities of these technologies."
Many schools have introduced AI policies to inform both students and faculty on how to use the new technology responsibly. For instance, my own school, the Franciscan University of Steubenville, introduced guidance on using artificial intelligence, including discussions on its use in the classroom.
"The teaching profession has to adapt to these new technologies," Sadowski said.
"We need fair ways to evaluate student learning - more in-class exams, more careful assignments that test student learning beyond what they can do with AI."
While many students like me largely support a responsible integration of AI into academia, sentiments remain divided among the American public, with 42% believing that it will make life worse, according to an NBC News poll.
Some have a far darker view of the technology, with a new Yahoo/YouGov poll finding that 53% of the 1,770 individuals polled believe that AI is likely to someday
"destroy humanity."
"It's become so easy and free for students to do this that it's just shaken up education," Sadowski said.
"In computer science, the process of building something yourself helps you learn to think clearly and break down problems. If you let AI do all your homework, you will miss out on important learning opportunities, and when the AI fails, students get stuck. I see that happening in the classroom."
Despite the possibility of cheating and outsourcing labor through AI systems, I'm optimistic - and so is Sadowski.
"In my own field, it takes students a long time to learn these technical skills to make progress on the research side," he said.
"I'm excited about the ability of AI to help student scientists accelerate research. That's the hope."
Simon Olech is a reporter studying journalism at the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
poll#218
When it comes to AI versus human art, which AI is not art because it is not human, I agree with it being highly regulated, and even classes to help humans know what is real and human, and what is not.
Also, I agree: At some point in your life, "pick up an instrument and learn to play," even if you never become a professional, learn to play.
Often, my wife, of 47.5 years, will ask me to play my guitar and sing for her, which I do almost every time she requests it.
I play what she likes to hear, and she loves it like I was one of here favorite musicians, and from that point on for the rest of that evening, I am so thankful that I 'picked up an instrument and learned to play.' One more thing, if one possesses any ear for music at all, playing an instrument will help to tune one's vocals.