AI in the classroom through students’ eyes

Over the last couple of years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been the topic of heated debates among a number of groups: software developers, Human Resource departments in companies, and of course, teachers at every level. The one voice that seems to be missing is that of students.
Typically, the education sector is dealing with AI in two ways: excited about its potential as a learning tool and worried about its effects on the learning curve.
Factors like students not being able to think or write on their own are coupled with the perceived advantages of how learning can be individualised and curated for specific needs.
But a major gap in formal and informal research is the students’ voices. What exactly do they think AI can do to transform the way they learn, what they learn and how they learn?
The answers are complex, much like everything else. The Harvard School of Education declares that “the world is changing – that is the big takeaway from a new report on teen and young adult perspectives on AI ...”.
In their paper, students admitted that they used AI to write their papers, at times entirely, or in parts. However, they also admitted to doing much more with it.
Often, senior secondary and tertiary level students said that they used AI to help them to start an essay, or as a personal tutor to help them understand a topic better.
Students of literature say that they use AI to understand literary history as well as terms and theories, before or after a class. Similarly, translation students used it to look up culturally appropriate terms.
Another study found that only 4 per cent of students of 14-22 years used AI on a daily basis. 53 per cent of respondents said that they used AI to access information and 51 per cent to brainstorm. Young adults are said to use AI to seek answers they are too nervous to ask their parents or other adults.
In fact, this has become a cause for concern as another young adult said that adults need to be aware that AI provides all kinds of reliable and non-reliable answers to confused teenagers.
The creative use of AI is one of the most important positive uses. Young adults use it for editing pictures, making music and creating digital art.
Bullying and disinformation are seen by students as being the biggest challenges of using AI and technology in general. This is because of the possibility of creating morphed images and deep fakes which are then circulated, causing distress and disrepute to the subjects of such images.
We tend to think of Gen Z as children navigating a turbulent world. But they actually need to be seen as responsible adults whose voice deserves to be heard and followed upon.
We also know that Artificial Intelligence is now a force for good and evil, but we are less aware of the views of those who are actually growing up with AI around them.
It is, in fact, their voices which need to be heard, and their solutions to be implemented.

The writer is an Associate Professor, Sultan Qaboos University