The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly increased in the last 2-3 years, with almost 79 percent of Americans utilizing AI several times a day. Pascack Hills High School (PHHS) itself has unrestricted access to certain AIs, such as the Gemini 2.5 Flash. However, we also need to think about how much students really depend on it, and if it is possibly making them dumber.
Out of 42 interviewed Pascack Hills students, about 98% of them said they use AI at least once (if not more) in one week. “I use it, like, three times a week,” one student said, laughing. Additionally, when asked what they use artificial intelligence for, all responders mentioned schoolwork in their answers. Most described their usage as “help,” and one student stated she uses it because “My teachers don’t explain [homework] very well,” implying that AI is widely used to help students understand the problem rather than give a direct answer.
“I still think it’s a bad habit, but it’s useful,” freshman Gurnoor Kaur explained when asked to comment.
But is being self-aware about AI usage enough? An MIT study (summarized by Time magazine) asked students from 13-18 years old to utilize ChatGPT’s “OpenAI” to write their essays, and requested another group of students (in the same age range) to write the same essay without the help of artificial intelligence. Those who used ChatGPT to “assist” their essays ended up becoming lazier over time, and most resorted to copying and pasting the essay from the chatbot by the end of the experiment. Additionally, when asked to recall their essay or any of the topics learned, the majority were unable to do so in a proper fashion and were short in understanding the subject in comparison to those who did not have access to AI.
Similarly to this, another report from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University (featured on Forbes magazine) found that those who were given access to AI when completing tasks became overly dependent on it and featured a great lack of cognitive thinking skills in comparison to those who did not use the AI application. This specific study was actually conducted on knowledge workers (or those who rely on problem-solving skills in their field of work), illustrating how AI has impacted stages even beyond schooling. Additionally, the researchers also realized that relying on an artificial intelligence device led to an absence of real-life experience. Therefore, people may be unable to complete a similar task without AI at their disposal.
On the flip side, the same study from Microsoft found that work efficiency was raised when the tool was utilized “correctly”; the main scientist involved in the study explained that when used appropriately (that is, as a teacher rather than as an answer), AI can truly expand the thought processes of the human brain. Additionally, certain other studies (such as one from the University of Illinois) state that AI actually promotes learning within students when utilized properly, and that some applications actually come with many great benefits to students when studying or completing general schoolwork. (However, the source specifically emphasizes scenarios where students may need extra assistance, implying that AI-positive arguments do not apply to those who directly plagiarize from a chatbot.)
Ultimately, AI is evidently a large part of life now. Whether it makes students smarter or dumber, well, that is entirely up to them and how they choose to use it.
Sources:
PHHS Students
https://www.nu.edu/blog/ai-statistics-trends/
https://time.com/7295195/ai-chatgpt-google-learning-school/
