5 Things About Using AI for Writing That I Wish Enthusiasts Would Remember

Despite all the discussion, I suspect the impact in some subjects of ChatGPT and other similar generative AI tools has been minimal. But for me as a college writing instructor, these AI tools have had a huge impact on my day-to-day work — and not a positive one. I am regularly dealing with AI-generated papers submitted in my class and, like a character in a Philip K. Dick novel, I regularly have the unsettling experience of suspecting human-generated writing was actually machine-written. I still share enthusiasts' belief that there is potential for using AI in education, from individualized tutoring to research and teaching assistance, and I agree banning it is not the answer. But I do think more has to be done to protect the integrity of human-generated writing in schools and that the conversation around AI should always address this. As we continue to figure out how generative AI fits into our curriculums and the world as a whole, here are some things I wish the pro-AI crowd would consider and address in their talks and writing on the subject. 1. Students Are Using AI to Submit Papers For Almost Every Written Assignment The problems posed by AI are here and real and occurring in classrooms every day. A recent survey of college students and their AI use found that 96% of students use ChatGPT for school work, 69% percent use it for help with writing, and 29% percent use it to generate entire papers. Using AI to help study and be organized is great, using it to generate entire papers not so much. In my undergraduate classes, I have noticed the rate of AI submissions to be trending up. In a class of 20 students, I now expect to see at least three AI-generated papers per assignment. 2. Reading AI Papers Is Demoralizing Until it happens to you, it can be difficult to fully grasp how unsettling and demoralizing it is to come across AI-generated work in your classes. When you suspect a paper is AI-generated but can't prove it, you have to spend time grading inauthentic […]