Thirty years ago, studying meant flipping through pages of textbooks, writing whole essays by hand, and waiting for teachers to explain difficult concepts. But now, students have a new study partner available at any time, anywhere. Meet artificial intelligence. From creating flashcards to review materials to helping you plan out an entire study plan for summer break, AI is changing how students learn, prepare, and approach education.
On November 30, 2022, OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research company, released ChatGPT, a chatbot that could answer questions, explain topics, and help with different tasks. Not long after its release, many students started using it as a new way to study. From reviewing class materials to preparing for exams, ChatGPT quickly became a tool that changed how students learn and find information.
Ward Beyermann, a university professor at the University of California, stated that, “It may force us to shift our curriculum to higher levels of critical thinking.” This shows that some professors believe AI can help students achieve a higher level of learning by encouraging them to develop stronger critical-thinking skills.
Some universities also accept AI as a part of their learning curriculum. For example, Harvard University has explored ways educators can incorporate AI into teaching while helping students understand its limitations and ethical concerns, for example using AI for “visual aids and images, coding, analysis, games, simulations, and more.
However, some professors show the opposite side. Fawwaz Habbal, a senior lecturer at Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, stated that, “AI can engage in processes that resemble critical thinking — data analysis, problem-solving, and modeling — but it has limitations.
Critical thinking requires the human experience, the human insight, and ethics and moral reasoning. Machines today lack all of that, and their processes are only recursive.” This shows that while AI tools, such as ChatGPT, may have the ability to help students find study resources in a short amount of time, relying on AI too much may cause harm to their ability to think critically on their own, showing that there are always possibilities for there to be challenges even within something beneficial.
Beyond professors’ opinions, students also made AI a part of their lives, whether for studying, book recommendations, or even travel planning. When it comes to studying, students use AI to help summarize notes, explain complex concepts, and create mock exams. Rather than becoming a complete replacement for school handbooks and textbooks, AI became more of a study assistant to guide students through learning. Todd Rogers, a professor at Harvard Kennedy School, wrote: “AI tools can improve, rather than undermine, learning." This means that Rogers is suggesting that AI would be a good study companion, rather than being a complete replacement.
Artificial intelligence has brought significant changes to the way students study, but its impact depends on how they choose to use it. When used responsibly, AI can become a helpful study partner that allows students to learn more efficiently and better understand difficult concepts.
However, if students rely on AI to do all the work for them without practicing their own critical thinking, it can negatively affect their problem-solving skills and ability to think independently. Like any other tool, AI use depends on how most people choose to use it. As technology continues to develop, students must learn to use AI responsibly, as it will likely become an important part of education and everyday life in the future.
