Artificial intelligence, or AI, has affected West Chicago Community High School during the course of the 2023-24 school year.

AI is used to describe machine-based technology that simulates human intelligence, and can help people with difficult questions, comments, or concerns. Students can use AI via ChatGPT, a free service in which they can type in any question and AI will seamlessly answer it. This technology could be both an issue and a benefit for teachers and students at WCCHS. 

AI’s capabilities have been brought to the attention of some teachers, and they are attempting to take new precautions to avoid unfairness or cheating of any form. Along with this, some educators are using it to their advantage and improving their curriculum.

“I feel like it’s taking control, and it shouldn’t have all that information,” junior Tommy Murphy said. 

Some students don’t agree with AI and think it’s unethical how much information it can provide, and worry it could eventually overrule. They find it unsettling how advanced AI is becoming.

“I don’t really like [AI], because they make me uncomfortable,” sophomore Sam Jaloway said.

AI has given students the ability to find answers without doing any work to get them. It is impossible to fully detect when the technology is being used, so teachers are largely unable to determine if the student has done their own original work or not. Some teachers at WCCHS have decided to ask students to perform assessments and assignments in front of them so there is no question as to whether the work is the student’s, or not.

“AI is fun to use and helpful, it’s not all bad,” WEGO English teacher Brian Turnbaugh said.

This way, teachers are able to use very current versions of grammar for their students, and with the use of AI they can do this swiftly and efficiently.

“It’s good for the student maybe temporarily, because they get the grade and they can paper over the assessment but down the line that’s not going to do them any favors when in a professional sense when they need to use critical thinking,” Turnbaugh said. 

Although several teachers have taken new precautions regarding AI, some have found it helpful for questions they are unable to figure out. Others have used ChatGPT for grammar checks, or played around with the technology for entertainment. AI’s use in the classroom is also still very new and a lot is unknown about the technology, and where it is going for the future.

Most teachers agree it is important that students are not using AI in unethical ways, and that the curriculum is fair to all students, so they do not feel compelled to resort to AI to complete an assignment.

Turnbaugh thinks in order to learn, representation needs to be provided for students to have an idea of what needs to be done.

“All learning is a type of synthesis of taking an idea and drawing it into various ideas to make an argument,” Turnbaugh said.