Lauren Root – Features Editor 

For the last few years, AI has taken on a prominent role in society, which has sparked fierce pushback, leading to fear at universities. I remember when ChatGPT became popular and, slowly but surely, more and more people around me began to use it. Now, it feels like there is a massive criticism of AI by university students. 

This year, I’ve been able to see firsthand how professors have adjusted to AI’s growing presence, and it’s gone one of two ways: professors adapt their courses to include AI, or condemn the usage of it entirely. Some classes have students now declare when they’ve used AI, and others have changed assignments to be hand-written in class to avoid AI altogether. 

Image courtesy of Gabrielle Lalonde

What I’ve noticed this semester is the total condemnation of technology. I find this to be an interesting issue, since banning and detecting AI is so difficult. Even googling a simple question now has an AI summary pop up at the top of the page. So, how do you ban something that surrounds you everywhere? 

Speaking to people outside of university life and working in the corporate world, they use AI every day. It’s seen as a tool to help you. There are now even external courses offered to teach people how to use AI to their benefit by increasing efficiency and accuracy. 

University students fall somewhere in the grey zone of this conflict. Yes, I believe it’s incredibly important to actually use your brain when doing work, to make sure you’re learning the content of your degree. On the other hand, it’s clear that AI is here to stay, and the disapproval of it won’t do anything; it’s fighting a losing battle. In the workforce during post-grad life, there will be no restrictions on the usage of AI; in fact, you’ll be encouraged to use it. 

I recognize this poses an incredibly difficult challenge for professors, and so far, my favourite way professors have responded is by integrating their course with AI and having students declare their usage of it. There are ways to use AI meaningfully while also keeping your writing voice. Personally, I use AI to help generate an idea for a writing prompt I’m stuck on, and use it as a launch pad to then go out and do additional research. I share this to show there are useful ways to use AI without becoming lost within the server and turning into a robot. 

I don’t think people should be entirely dependent on AI, and instead use their education and their own thoughts at work. That’s what makes going to school worth it, and helps you prepare for a life in your desired career path. 

That being said, I’d like to see more professors attempt to integrate AI into their courses, rather than banning it. AI is now a major part of society and technology, and that means learning how to work with it and not against it.