Different teachers have approached AI in different ways. Diane Gayeski, a professor of strategic communication at Ithaca College in New York, requires her students to use AI, knowing that they will have to show proficiency in AI tools in the corporate communications world. "[AI] is an expected part of the portfolio in the same way that [students] are expected to use PowerPoint or Excel, right?" Gayeski told Stacker.
A survey of nearly 2,700 U.S. instructors by education research group Ithaka S+R found that allow or encourage students to use AI. Some of the more accepted applications include brainstorming ideas, drafting or editing written assignments, and creating outlines.
When Leslie Layne started teaching with ChatGPT, a language model trained to write text using vast information on the internet, she had her students ask for articles to back up the information provided—and the chatbot obliged. But there was a problem: Most of the articles weren't real, said Layne, an associate professor of English at the University of Lynchburg, Virginia. Moreover, she told Stacker that all of the information wasn't accurate because ChatGPT is a writing tool, not a search engine. A Purdue University study published in May 2024 found it still . Layne's experience serves as a cautionary tale as colleges and universities grapple with the rise of AI tools at breakneck speed.
One of the most salient concerns about using AI is its effect on the quality of education. In the same survey of provosts by Inside Higher Ed, more than 7 in 10 respondents said they were worried about the threat to academic integrity.
AI has inspired bans from several educational institutions, including one of France's top universities, Sciences Po, and Bangalore's RV University. In Australia, a few jurisdictions have blocked ChatGPT on school networks. In the U.S., schools in New York City, Los Angeles, and Seattle have done the same.
Professors interviewed by the Associated Press in August 2023 described wanting to , with some requiring students to show their drafts. One writing professor, Timothy Main of Conestoga College in Canada, told AP that he had recorded 57 questions of academic integrity, about half the result of AI. That was up from eight in each of two earlier semesters.
Despite the increased concerns about AI use, the levels of misuse have largely remained stable even after its grand debut. A Stanford Graduate School of Education study found that rates of cheating had stayed the same— of students engaging in "cheating" behavior in the last month—or even decreased slightly after the introduction of ChatGPT.