It seems as if the trend and takeover of artificial intelligence (AI) happened overnight. AI is evolving way faster than I ever thought it would. It is now used for headshots, pictures, research papers and formulations. With this comes many great things, but just as well, many downfalls. One thing that many individuals think of right away is: where does AI fit into the classroom?

I am currently a senior and AI was never allowed to any extent in any of my previous classes… until this year. Initially, I was shocked because I didn’t think AI would make it to the classroom this soon after numerous viral stories of entire classrooms getting caught for cheating on final exams and other work. With the new implementation of this technology in the classroom, many rules were put into place: certain material had to be finished without AI, some assignments needed citations of where AI was used and finally, others only allowed AI to be used for brainstorming ideas. This was all very interesting to see for the first time. It is almost becoming as normal as using any online source since a citation makes it completely honorable within a paper. I obtained all this information from a second syllabus in one of my classes dedicated specifically to AI use, which led me to think about many things regarding school rules. I think separate guidelines for AI will be seen in the majority of classes in the future.

Some questions I have surrounding the use of AI are: will universities have their own AI guidelines, or will it be up to the professors to make their own rules and a potential policy notice as I have seen so far? Personally, I haven’t used AI to aid me in my work so far this semester because of the chance of wrong information. It was noted in my class syllabus regarding AI that wrong info is not uncommon since AI is still in the early stages. These are all things to consider when using AI.

This all makes me think of how AI is being used within workplaces currently or how it will be in the near future. There are very strong, polar opposite opinions of AI use. The beliefs vary from it being a great tool that can spark ideas to a tool that enables the spread of false information. Just like my current experience in class, where we have an AI policy, I wonder if workplaces will come out with additional policies and include them within the onboarding material of jobs. It is up to the management of companies to think of what is best for them and how others will view it if they use AI to work on tasks and research. It can make a company look progressive and tech-savvy or unreliable and lazy. These perceptions vary based on the individual viewing the company.

Another dilemma with AI is both in school settings and beyond is how difficult it is to know whether or not someone is using AI in the first place. AI was being used in school when it wasn’t allowed and it can be used in the workplace in the same manner. With the creation of new high-tech AI systems, there is going to be a lot of new learning and some trial and error when it comes to implementation. Just like I am seeing it slowly get used in classes, it will continue to spread to new places for use. As weird and new as it may seem right now, I suspect it will be a normal thing for many individuals as they grow up with it and it starts to get used more often. Before you know it, the next big thing will take over, and this whole implementation and acceptance process will happen again with something unimaginably more cutting-edge than this advanced technology system we are encountering today.