Story by Steven Xu

In recent years, generative AI has evolved in many ways people couldn’t possibly imagine. AI can do a lot, such as researching, checking grammar, and even writing whole essays with a single line of prompt. But with great improvements come great risks; people are worried that AI will make students lazier and prevent them from learning anything.

Some think that AI could benefit studying but needs restraint, “I think using AI could be beneficial in niche scenarios, such as helping people find sources and aiding in finding access to normally inaccessible materials. In my opinion, it’s easier for it to be used incorrectly by people, as it’s usually taken as an easy way out for certain tasks, rather than a tool to help students learn,” said Alp Sonmez, a student at DHS.

Do students actually use generative AI for studying?

The results differ. “I’ve only used it a few times to find better ways for me to study, but I’ve only ever used it to fact-check my notes,” said Calleigh Berry, another student at DHS.

”I do not use AI for studying. I personally think it’s more of a hassle rather than studying conventionally,” said Sonmez. One area where generative AI seems to stand out is research. ”It can be helpful for researching, as it takes from a variety of sources and generates a response based on them, while Google is a search engine that brings up individual sources,” he continued.

Another question that has been asked after the rise of generative AI is: what should schools do?

”I feel like schools should treat AI as a double-edged sword; it can be useful and harmful depending on how they’re planning to use it. I feel like schools need to find a way to make sure students are using AI responsibly due to the fact that AI isn’t gonna magically go away,” said Berry.

Finally, what do teachers think of the use of AI?

“In terms of AI, the benefits and harms are really user-dependent,” said Deborah Greenwald, a math teacher at DHS. “Using AI to help you check your writing (essays and papers) and review it against the prompt or rubric is great. It lets you know where you can improve. However, using AI to be lazy—letting it do the thinking for you or allowing it to complete your assignments—will do a tremendous amount of harm.”

This highlights how AI can be both helpful and harmful depending on how students choose to use it.