The great leap of AI: The new and improved digital coworker

By Mateo Muñoz, Staff Writer

 

Stumped on how to factor that polynomial?  Wonder how to write a compound-complex sentence? Not sure what the body’s circulatory system does? No problem, just type the question into your computer search engine and . . . voila! Your answer magically appears, courtesy of Artificial Intelligence. 

Students nowadays are using AI for school more than ever. An explosion of AI has spread across the nation, affecting everyone with access to the Internet. From one AI app to another, many companies have taken advantage of this new trend by integrating AI and evolving their technology to compete with one another. 

AI has evolved very quickly. Chat GPT, the most popular AI engine, became popular in late 2022 coming into 2023. From that point on, many other companies have seen how useful AI could be to the average person. Notable companies like Google, X, Microsoft, and Apple have integrated their own AI engines into their productions to maximize the popularity and diversity of their products. 

According to a global study conducted by the Digital Education Council, 86% of students integrate AI into their studies with 54% of them using it daily. That is roughly one in four students using AI daily. 

Artificial Intelligence has become very accessible for many because of how largely it is integrated into software. For example, Microsoft Teams, a popular digital workspace for students, has AI, called Microsoft Pilot, directly integrated into the system. Another example is Google. Google now uses its AI engine to generate responses to your searches with the sources listed that it used. 

The explosion of AI has brought concern to many people about its accuracy and reliability.  

Bruce Gillespie, CCS football teams offensive line coach as well as high school English teacher, has brought concern to the issue of Artificial Intelligence being so accessible and easy to use. 

“I do not support the academic use of AI because we as users do not use it as a resource, but as a writer and thinker. That leaves us thinking less and not ‘academic,’ ” Gillespie said. “The easy road now could lead to a hard road later.” 

The Chegg survey unveiled that 54% of students express concern with AI’s accuracy and ethical implications. 

“A wrong calculation could lead to disaster in math and engineering,” Gillespie said, “but could help engineers do their work if controlled and checked by human calculations.” 

This concern pertains directly to its reliability because of the importance of accuracy in educational contexts. 

There is also the concern that abusing the use of AI in academics will undermine a student’s ability to develop necessary skills used in academic workspaces, as well as professional settings. 

Artificial Intelligence has not only been adopted by students, but faculty in higher education have also hopped onto the trend. Ellucian, a software provider used by many colleges, found that 93% of higher education staff have the intention to expand their use of AI over the next couple of years. However, the opinions of educators vary. 

The Digital Education Council’s 2025 Global AI Faculty Survey states that 61% of faculty use some sort of AI in their teachings, while 88% use it very minimally. This reveals that there is still much hesitancy among many people to trust and rely on Artificial Intelligence for important endeavors. 

“We’ve allowed it to grow exponentially and learn from humans,” Gilliespie said. “What AI exists now, it could start to ‘feel’ as humans do, but not in a good way. Final decisions must be from HUMANS!”  

Sabrina Burgio, CCS U.S. History and Government teacher, believes that AI could be beneficial but only in the right hands. 

“AI is not inherently good or bad; it depends on how and when it is used. When used by someone with strong critical thinking skills, it can enhance productivity and efficiency,” Burgio said. “Without those skills, it can limit growth and understanding.” 

All these mixed opinions come from how diverse AI has become. In the right hands, it is seen as a creative tool. In the wrong hands, it is thought to decrease productivity. Since this tool is so accessible, it is very easy to fall into either one of these categories. 

“For young people who have not yet developed strong critical thinking skills, I do not believe AI is entirely positive,” Burgio said. “That concerns me because education is meant to teach people how to think, not just provide answers.” 

Photo credit: Igor Omilaev on Unsplash