The Use of AI in School

BHAVANA BHARADWAJ, Staff Writer

As a student in 2025, it is difficult to not come across the use of Chat GPT or any AI-powered platform. Just about every student I know uses it. Though AI is unavoidable in our modern world, is it truly ethical? No, it is not.

When ignoring the terrible effect that AI has on our environment, there is still shame attached to using it. As young students, it's hard to acknowledge the environment as something we should even care about. How can one feel passionate about what they have never experienced themselves? In truth, the core item that students should care about is their own lack of knowledge, not the water waste or the lost jobs, simply the loss of intellect. In a world where libraries are being defunded and books are being banned, knowledge is truly the most important thing that we as humans could ever wish to have. It is knowledge that incites change. If your knowledge comes from a machine, then what difference could you ever hope to make?

AI is inaccurate, though easy. Multitudes of students use it to write their essays and solve their problems. No one is really consuming knowledge. Rather, people are fed answers that they have not given themselves a chance to try and solve. Personally, AI is scary. It is scary to acknowledge students who have degraded themselves to only what AI can give. It is scary to watch the younger generation lose their independent thought. Manipulation and propaganda are omnipresent. When people cannot think for themselves, they are hurt. It is why people vote for corrupt politicians and why they fight against ethics. This world was built on the integrity of humanity. What humanity is AI willing to give?

Throughout history, we've been warned. The science fiction novels of your ELA classes are now representative of the real world. Perhaps you didn't pay attention to the lesson. Perhaps the themes of Fahrenheit 451 or Animal Farm went through the brain of AI rather than your own. Maybe the book was never truly read. When people can't analyze pieces of literature, how will they ever learn what is real? What is the point of an author's work if there are no real minds to consume it?

And yes, I understand that this explanation is harsh, but it is the truth nevertheless. If we do not allow ourselves the discomfort that comes with performing without AI, then we will never be able to improve ourselves. There is no point in an education that does not truly help its students. To the kids who don't solve their own problems: have you no respect for the people who fought for education? Have you no respect for the writers who suffered day and night just to imbue their humanity on a piece of paper? Is there no respect for the honorable teachers, who have dedicated their lives for the betterment of others? Is there no respect for yourself, whose identity is more than a machine?

Yet, despite these ramblings, I understand that I can't change people who aren't willing to change themselves. It is human to want a solution for the struggle. But humanity also lies in our ability to adapt and overcome. School is but one example of this. There was no reason for the discoverers to discover and the dreamers to dream if we do not truly learn all that they did.

And so, fight for yourself. In each fiber of our muscle and stick of bone, we must overcome. We must thrive and grow as the people we are. Our minds are not defined by the statements of a machine. AI takes from the raw ideas of humanity. We can certainly overcome a program that only knows how to steal human thought and creation.

Because you are as real as can be.

Prove it to your entirety of being.

In a world of what is contrived.

Be real.