In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken the internet by storm. This powerful technology offers both exciting benefits and serious risks to the world. AI is a system that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. For example, solving math problems, coding, and even creative activities such as creating new baking recipes. The potential of AI seems endless, but with every groundbreaking innovation comes concerns with how it could be misused.
Recently in the classroom, students have found ways to use AI to their advantage. From using AI to complete their schoolwork to helping them study, AI poses serious risks and benefits in the academic world.
A recent poll was sent out to students at BBH asking them about their usage of AI. Responders were anonymous but the information provided no surprises. 63% of students responded that they use AI sometimes or almost always to do most of their schoolwork for them.
This statistic is concerning because many students admit that when they don’t feel like doing their work, they simply use AI to complete it instead.
However, despite these concerns AI can provide many benefits in the classroom. One anonymous respondent shared, “AI helps explain complicated topics.” In a public school with hundreds of students, students’ questions and confusion are often overlooked. AI, however, helped. While many students were confused by topics they were learning in school, such as math, they had AI help explain these topics to provide them a better understanding.
This is not the only way that AI has been seen to be beneficial to the educational world. While students fight to find study materials before tests in order to prepare, AI can create these. New technology can instantly generate practice questions or study guides for students.
This is not the only unique way students can learn with AI. But with new features, AI can instantly make podcasts that explain topics students are learning in school. These new features allow students to prepare for tests better than ever.
Katelyn Cast, a freshman at BBHHS says, “AI can have many benefits and can explain things when people are confused, but it can be taken too far.”
Pelumi Lawal, a sophomore at BBHHS added to this saying, “Some people put all their work into AI and don’t even try. It can be great to explain things, like for example math where I may not understand something, but it gets to a point.”
As for students, the majority could not choose if AI was beneficial or not. As many acknowledge the power of AI, it’s clear that great power often brings great risk.
“AI is a quick access to information especially when there is not a teacher to help explain to understand but it is also often wrong and misinforms the user,” Lawal added.
AI is still developing but its intentions are clear. The potential of AI cannot be held back. Aside from the classroom AI has found other uses. In fact, AI can have profound results in the healthcare world.
As for healthcare, AI can help personalize treatments. AI can analyze data of a person, such as their medical history and lifestyle, in order to prescribe a medication or treatment plan (The Kirby Foundation).
This new development saves doctors time and can be beneficial to both medical professionals and patients. AI can also diagnose diseases and prevent them from worsening (The Kirby Foundation).
However, this isn’t the only advantage; surprisingly, AI can also play a role in addressing climate challenges. AI can generate anything instantly. This allows it to be able to pull up data from weather trends to climate patterns in order to provide users more accurate information on where to migrate or to help them adapt easier (The Kirby Foundation).
AI has also been found to help find ways to optimize energy consumption and production (The Kirby Foundation). With climate change becoming more of a problem than ever, this technology poses some profound benefits.
AI is still developing, and its potential is completely unknown. As technology continues to advance it’s profound benefits in the world seem to be limitless. Understanding both the benefits and risks of AI will help society control the future.
Admin, Fruition. “The Future of AI: 5 AI Advancements to Expect in the next 10 Years.” The Fusioneer, 17 Nov. 2023, thefusioneer.com/blog/the-future-of-ai-5-ai-advancements-to-expect-in-the-next-10-years/.
