Artificial Intelligence in schools – friend or foe? If you ask most students, it’s the best thing invented since the calculator. If you ask teachers, well, some might argue it’s a one-way ticket to an academic apocalypse. However, like most things in life, AI in education is not inherently good or bad. It’s all about how you use it.

To address the elephant (or the chatbot) in the room: cheating. AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity have made it easier than ever for students to generate entire essays and solve math problems, even going as far as to mimic their own writing styles. It makes sense that educators are skeptical.

What’s the point of learning if a machine is doing all the work? If AI is just a shortcut to avoid thinking, then it is about as useful as copying your friend’s homework five minutes before the start of class.

However, before throwing AI out the metaphorical window, it has to be taken into consideration that AI can enhance learning if used responsibly. At its best, AI isn’t a replacement for thinking, but a tool that can supercharge it.

For one, AI can act as an on-demand tutor, providing students with personalized explanations in ways that a single professor with hundreds of students can’t. Stuck on a math concept? An AI chatbot can walk you through it step by step. Need feedback on your writing? Ask ChatGPT to fix your grammar and structure in real time.

AI doesn’t have to be about “replacing educators,” but rather giving students more opportunities to engage with material in a way that fits their individual learning styles and needs.

AI can also help teachers and professors by automating tedious tasks like grading multiple-choice quizzes, freeing up valuable time to focus on teaching. Instead of drowning in paperwork, educators can spend more time providing meaningful feedback and guiding students through complex ideas.

The key is intention. Using AI to write an essay without learning anything? Bad. Using AI to brainstorm ideas, outline thoughts or refine drafts? That’s a different story. The goal should be to treat AI like a tool, not a means to cheat. Just as we teach students when and how to use calculators in math class, we should teach them when and how to use AI responsibly in writing, research and problem solving.

Skepticism is healthy. When AI is misused, it could undermine education rather than enhance it. But outright banning it is akin to banning a book because some people use them to plagiarize. Instead, schools should begin to embrace this new era of AI with certain guidelines, emphasizing critical thinking and ethical usage.

If we equip students with the right mindset, AI can be a powerful assistant rather than a digital crutch.

So, is AI good in schools? Only if we use it for the right reasons. If students are taught to use it as a learning aid in place of a shortcut, AI has the potential to revolutionize education in the best way possible. Otherwise, we risk turning classrooms into places where technology replaces learning rather than enhances it. That would be a real loss.

The post AI In Schools: The Good, The Bad, and the Cheaty first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.