While artificial intelligence has been around for decades, its recent explosion of popularity is cause for concern for Gen Z and Gen Alpha children. In recent years, AI has become much more easily accessible and much more efficient, leading to students and staff alike to use AI for simple assignments or schoolwork. Some teachers enjoy using AI for lesson plans or aesthetic slideshows. And some students claim to use AI merely to ‘check’ their work. Yet the line between cheating and helping can be extremely thin when it comes to artificial intelligence– and the power it wields.
“The way artificial intelligence impacts our school and culture is it helps students get resources and it makes assignments easier,” junior Anna Maluf said. “Sometimes I don’t understand an equation my teacher gives me, so I look to AI to help me understand so I can pass the next test.”
AI became more popular due to increasing screen time of children and teens. More and more apps came out, either fully artificial intelligence based or crafted into the software. Snapchat, for example, released an AI chatbot in early 2023. For months, this bot was pinned to the top of the screen, unable to remove it. Is this simply a coincidence or is a multi-million dollar company such as Snapchat contributing to the commercial success of AI?
“It is good and bad,” Maluf said. “It’s good because it can be helpful but also bad when students take advantage of it.”
Other social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, have features embedded which promote artificial intelligence use. These features are simple and accessible, a click of a button which reads ‘Rewrite grammatically correct’ or ‘Remove person from background’. This commercialization is pushing AI out to the masses– not just children, or teens, but also adults and millennials.
“Used correctly, AI can be a good tool to use, like for studying, but most of the time it’s negative because most students use it to cheat or for the wrong reasons.” Senior Caitlyn Shirley said.
Though the future of AI is daunting and uncertain, the influence of it and its effect on society are significant. The rise of artificial intelligence is incomparable to any past phenomenon– and could be devastating.
“I see AI impacting future students because it makes students feel more inclined to not do their work since AI is a source to do it for you.” Shirley said. “AI has a negative impact on students.”
