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One word on the news, seemingly every night. One word on every teacher’s syllabus. One word on every code of conduct. One word in every third ad. Seemingly in every reel, every TedTalk, even in SNL: AI. AI, AI and AI.
AI itself has become a rising phenomenon. Every profession, schools, the environment, and our future has been touched by AI. The future of AI is upon us and it’s up to us to figure out how to regulate it and use it effectively.
The Future of AI
The word and all it represents has become the ultimate paradox: both so common in everyday life it practically blends in, and so controversial that it cannot be ignored. AI in schools is no exception.
“I use ChatGPT for some of my classes,” senior Naviya Kamalakannan said. “I’ll use it to make flash cards sometimes, or make practice problems in math, and I ask it to grade my essay in English classes so I can fix my essays and make them better.”
To many, including Kamalakannan, there is nothing wrong with this.
“Using AI is ethical [as long as] you’re not using it to cheat,” Kamalakannan said. “I feel like if students use [AI] responsibly then there isn’t a problem.”
Far from seeing it as cheating, many teachers would agree and even condone this use of technology by students to do their work.
“[AI] should be used as a tool. Even like, photomath, which is a form of AI, helps you in math. It’s helpful because you can look at the steps to solve that problem or it’ll create extra problems for you to solve with solutions that you can work through,” Math Teacher Robert Roth said.
Beyond allowing students to use AI, many teachers are beginning to integrate it into their own projects in classes.
“I teach MMR, which is mathematical modeling and reasoning, and in that class, AI is utilized a lot just to get answers quickly and get a background on things we’re trying to solve,” Roth said. “Specifically, to do research, create timelines, models or flashcards and write.”
Several teachers are beginning to embrace AI for their lives outside academics as well. In addition to being a math teacher, Roth is the defensive coordinator for the school’s football team, a role in which he says AI has been a great help.
“We’ll import our Excel sheet, thousands of pieces of data, into, say, Gemini, and ask it very specific questions, and it will predict tendencies and give us all kinds of different statistics that we would spend hours finding, really quickly,” Roth said. “I assign it a role, and it kicks back data. But [using AI is] just kind of keeping up with everybody else too because they’re doing it too.”
However, there is a line between AI use being convenient or aiding learning and doing the work for people, especially when it comes to students. One specific, glaring concern with this is English courses, where it is very easy for this figurative line to blur.
“I realize that [AI use is] a double edged sword and it can be used for good, but I usually don’t see it being used for good [in my classes],” English Teacher Andrew Dobosh said. “In fact, I see mostly people using it to look up answers to quizzes.”
But the main issue with AI in English classes comes with the idea of AI completing writing assignments for students.
“At some point [when AI is used for writing], it feels like passing off something that isn’t their own work. You know, it feels inauthentic, ” Dobosh said. “Almost like students are trying to get one over on you by asking somebody else to do their work for them.”
In spite of any controversies with AI use in academics, there is no denying that AI is helpful to students, including beyond the classroom.
“I’ve been using [AI] for college research [as well],” Kamalakannan said. “Some college websites are confusing and don’t get to the point, so I ask ChatGPT to help me find what I am looking for [on them].”
But all things considered, the answer to the question of AI in school is much more nuanced.
“ [AI must] be used but used with caution. We can’t lean on it. Ultimately, we’re trying to develop people and make people better thinkers and critical thinkers, and you can’t do that if you’re leaning on [AI] too much and never actually doing the work yourself,” Roth said.
AI in the Future
“Remember, this is not just a story, this is our future,” stated in the video game “Detroit: Become Human”. Could AI-based video games and movies be commonplace? The evolution of AI has grown rapidly since 2021, and AI-generated images and videos are getting more and more realistic.
People believe that if the majority of media users are unable to identify what is or isn’t AI-generated, that society is ultimately doomed, according to yaledailynews.com.Artificial intelligence is currently getting heavily bashed or oddly beloved from different generations, but every generation after Gen Alpha won’t know a time without AI.
The main worry across everyone’s mind is the burning question: “Will AI take our jobs?!”, and the reality is that they could. Many jobs relating to calculating, data research and banking are already shrinking their workforce due to the use of AI, according to CNBC News.
Conducted through a random online survey taken by 32 Orange students, 40 percent of people believe that AI will be a threat to mankind. It seems that more computer and technology related jobs are mainly at risk, but who’s to say it isn’t a threat to other professions.
The award-winning musical “Emilia Pérez” used AI for the soundtrack specifically for one of the singer’s vocals, according to Forbes. In all likelihood, every profession could be in jeopardy.
Many people believe that the idea of artificial intelligence growing in consciousness is just science fiction while others think that the more AI grows intelligent, the more the “light” will turn on and robots could potentially start having real feelings. Google suspended software engineer Blake Lemoine in 2022, after he argued that AI chatbots could feel things and potentially suffer, according to BBC News.
“People saying that chatbots can feel things is just weird. It’s a robot;it shouldn’t have feelings,” an Orange senior who wished to remain anonymous said.
People are using code words with chatbots, trying to get them to generate experiences of love and happiness, while some people debate on what consciousness actually is. Researchers focus on the subjective experience and other studies say it functions through the cognitive process, according to NatureStudies.
“Yes, have you seen the movies! The movies literally tell us what is going to happen one day,” senior Miya Elmore said.
Conducted through a random online survey taken by 32 Orange students, 47 percent of people believe that artificial intelligence will one day grow consciousness.
“Artificial intelligence will have negative effects in the future; people already use it for dumb things and to do all their school work for them. People are just becoming more lazy,” Elmore said.
With AI relationships quickly growing at a rapid speed, so are AI home appliances. Sitting at home alone could be boring and not very stimulating, but what if people had the ability to ask their vacuum some hard-hitting questions?
Companies are now making a way for home appliances like vacuums, lawn-mowers and kitchen assistants to be powered with AI to become more efficient and sophisticated, according to Science News Today. These new and improved appliances could be designed to recognize patterns in its humans’ tone of voice, their facial expressions and even possibly their behavioral cues.
These pet-like designs are to help stimulate lonely owners at home or help children who need to be occupied throughout the day. Conducted through a random online survey taken by 32 Orange students, 50 percent of people answered that they would not trust a robot to watch over their children. The horror movie ‘M.E.G.A.N.’ probably helped sway some votes.
Many people have already had a robot complete their medical examinations and surgeries. Healthcare providers are now using AI to develop new drugs and treatments.
With the properties AI holds, people can build completely new proteins, according to the University of California. People have already been operated on by a machine.
“I’ve had surgery done by a machine. It was operated by a surgeon, of course not on its own,” English Teacher Andrea Vescelius said.
Human-like robots could be operating soon in the future, advanced AI could aid economic pressures by expanding surgical capacity without increasing cost, according to Forbes.
“It would depend on the robot’s dexterity, and I’d want to look at the robot’s previous surgical performances,” Vescelius said.
Conducted through a random online survey taken by 32 Orange students, 37 percent of people answered that they would allow a machine to work on them in case of emergency.
Artificial intelligence has come a long way in these short few years, and there is no doubt that it is going to expand in the future. As humans, people have had to adjust to every new technology that has come before, and artificial intelligence is just another challenge to take on. We can’t forget the realism of the past while reaching for the artificial reality of our future.
“Because reality is the only thing that’s real. You understand what I’m saying?” said by Anorak in the movie “Ready Player One”.
Impacts of AI
In the United States, 62 percent of adults have reported that they utilize AI numerous times a week with 73 percent of American adults saying that they would be inclined to allow AI to help with their everyday tasks, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.
In the past five years it has become increasingly clear that there is an insurgence in the use of artificial intelligence, whether it’s asking for help on how to write an email to a coworker or a student using AI for their homework assignments. However, the repercussions or possible effects of AI are not as widely known to many because it’s still fairly new to people, but the ramifications can now be seen in humans and their mental well being and also the environment as a whole.
“The issue that surrounds AI is energy consumption; energy consumption contributes to the release of greenhouse gases, which then in turn contributes to global warming and climate change. That’s where the biggest concern lies: climate change,” AP Environmental Science teacher Jessica Timmons said.
Using chatbots like Chatgpt makes it so there is a significant amount of water used in these data centers for their advanced cooling systems according to Penn State Institute of Energy and the Environment. The amount of water consumption happening in these centers is very high, and it can lead to lack of water as a resource.
“AI utilizes a ton of water and data has found that AI datacenters can raise the ambient atmospheric temperature one mile above the data center by 23 degrees,” Timmons said.
The use of AI not only impacts energy and water consumption but also leads to a higher increase of e waste since technology companies keep advancing their products as more computer chips and batteries are being sent to landfills. Alongside this, if this high use of AI continues, by 2030 there could be around five millions tons of e waste from older equipment according to the Conservation Foundation.
“We are going to see shifts in weather patterns (more intense hurricanes, for example, and hurricanes hitting the coasts earlier and earlier in the season) and we are going to see some areas be inundated with flood waters while locations that are accustomed to receiving rainfall will suddenly experience drought,” Timmons said.
The effects of AI will most definitely have a widespread effect on a multitude of things such as the Earth, but a more recent concern discussed now is how much of an effect AI could have on a person’s mental health. Around 17-24 percent of juveniles create somewhat of a dependency on AI with studies showcasing that individuals with mental health disorders such as depression or anxiety are more liable to develop a reliance on it, according to the Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology.
“Students may become dependent on AI, diminishing self-efficacy and resilience. Additionally, inaccurate or impersonal responses from AI can lead to frustration or misinformation, negatively impacting well-being,” School Psychologist Mackenzie Nordquist said.
In today’s society, AI can even be seen as an outlet for people to talk to about their life or their own issues. However, this can obviously lead to the downside of people with social anxiety becoming more isolated after seeking comfort in AI. According to the Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology, around 12 percent of individuals with mental health disorders explicitly use AI programs to manage their loneliness.
“Overuse of AI may reduce critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as people become accustomed to automated assistance. It can also contribute to increased isolation if AI interactions replace human connections,” Norquist said.
There is a shift since the commercial usage of AI where people now rely on it for simple tasks.
“Early experiences are showing that there is a trend of “Cognitive Offloading” in that people delegate tasks to AI that they would have needed to reason through differently in the past,” Olentangy IT security supervisor Sam Marshall said.
However, with the use of AI, like anything, in small increments and not high consumption is not bad for a person. In fact, with the wide varieties of ways to utilize AI, it could potentially help someone’s, without a mental disorder, mental state.
“AI provides convenient and immediate responses. AI provides students and adults with a way to get something done more efficiently. Theoretically leaving them more time to do what they prefer,” Nordquist said, “AI tools can provide immediate access to mental health resources, such as coping strategies or crisis support, which may enhance accessibility and early intervention,”
With all of this being said, AI is still very relatively new to the public and professionals so the true impact of AI on one’s wellbeing may not be discovered yet.
“While I cannot give specifics since mental health impact is not within my area of expertise, the first thing that comes to mind is that AI has not been commercially available long enough to truly understand its impact. Most people cite that AI (as we have come to know it) has only been available to the public for around 3 years, and with the rapid change in the technology, getting a stable environment to study or begin to understand any long-term impact is not there yet,” Marshall said.
