By KATIE SMITH, JRN 111 STUDENT
It feels like something out of a science fiction movie. You step into your lecture as you do on any other day, but instead of a professor at the front of your class, you find human-looking artificial intelligence. Large tablets have replaced desks, with topics updated automatically as information pours out of the machine in front of you. No discussions, no raised hands, no reactions to what is being taught. Just a silent room, filled only with the automated sound of your bot professor’s “voice.”
Though this exact scenario isn’t likely any time soon, AI is so prevalent on college campuses that Illinois college educators feel compelled to push for legislation that “ensures that courses offered at our community colleges are taught by qualified human instructors, not artificial intelligence,” as Moraine Valley librarian Troy Swanson said recently in testimony before the Illinois House Higher Education Committee. Swanson is legislative chair for the Cook County College Teachers Union.
Artificial intelligence is changing college life completely, but not in the same way for everyone. From students using ChatGPT to help with late-night homework to professors debating its help or harm to education, the perspectives on AI use range from enthusiasm to reluctant acceptance to outright rejection.
“The number one thing that it doesn’t do is human interaction, and I think so much of what learning is and when learning works best is when there is a good connection between a student and a teacher,” Swanson said in an interview. “I mean, walking into a library and talking to a librarian has more impact than if I just had an AI at that desk, right?”
Some professors and students embrace the use of AI
The challenges and opportunities that AI brings to the table are complicated, but not incomprehensible.
“I would say it’s a good tool, it’s a good resource, and it’s definitely something that is useful,” says Isabella Rita, a science transfer student at Moraine Valley.
The positive uses of this new technology are apparent, even though these opinions could be rare in a school setting. An article from the Center for Reinventing Public Education says that 23 percent of school districts had already trained teachers on AI in the classroom and another 37 percent said they intended to in the 2023-2024 school year.
Someone on campus who accepts the use of AI is Andrea Bailey, associate professor in business. Bailey has taken a proactive approach to the new technology by taking classes on the subject and working to implement AI in her classroom.
“I was just curious about this new area of computing that seemed to be in the news all the time, and I just didn’t want to not know about something so important,” Bailey says.
She encourages her students to use AI as a tool to make study guides, find sources and further explain topics that they might not understand in class. She wants her students to ask questions and test the limits of the different AI platforms available to them.
“I think it can be used to teach some topics and help students review. I think it’s going to be really good for that,” she said.
Some students see the positive side of AI as well. When it is used correctly, AI technology can be incredibly helpful to students and even further their learning. Isabella Rita is on the same page as Bailey.
“When I don’t understand a certain topic and my professor just has a PowerPoint on it but with big words, I ask it to kind of dumb it down and explain it to me in a different way to understand better,” Rita says.
According to the University of Illinois College of Education, AI can help students to personalize their learning experience and give immediate feedback on topics they may be confused on, which is incredibly helpful especially if a student is in a crunch.
Ethics are still catching up to advances in AI
The future of AI is wide and unexplored, but everything is moving so quickly that the ethical boundaries have yet to catch up. The way that technology has developed over the years is extraordinary, but there is definitely a grey area.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Ryen Nagle has more of a neutral stance on the subject, but he believes the ethical considerations need to be explored further before it can be used more in education.
“I think right now, the conversation on campus and within higher ed is how do we teach responsible use of it?” Nagle says.
Ultimately, teaching responsible use of the technology rather than banning it altogether may make sense. According to the Ohio Capital Journal, half of college students agree that using AI for schoolwork is cheating, but 1 in 5 students still use it anyway.
“You see the technology itself becoming more mature. These things will happen over time, but we’re at the very beginning stages of this really disruptive technology,” says Nagle.
AI is still learning–and getting things wrong
Though the instant access to information can be helpful in some cases, in many instances, these technologies are just plain wrong. AI hallucinations, where misinformation or gibberish are generated, are very real and very common when a platform doesn’t know the answer to a certain question, according to an article from The Conversation.
Moraine Valley student AB Conejo, 19, says that she has encountered these hallucinations, so she will not trust AI technology for any school help.
“I used ChatGPT to look up an article similar to the one I read in class,” she said. “I ended up trying to use [the AI-generated article] for evidence, but my teacher told me all my information was incorrect.”
The article AI gave the student was full of misinformation, and what the tech used to explain was just fillers so it would seem legitimate.
“I think every organization across the country, including Moraine Valley, should ask itself in terms of alignment, what are the decisions that have to be made in the hands of humans that should not be in the hands of AI.”
Troy Swanson, Library Department Chair
The technology is still learning, feeding off what is given to it by the people who use it. Since it is so new, the hallucinations make sense. It is still growing and learning, so it must fill in some of the blanks itself.
Swanson points out that the technology is in its very early stages: “ChatGPT started in November of 2022–-like that is the first time it went public. It is just starting, and it is already having monumental effects.”
The bill Swanson is pushing, HB 1859, has made it through the House of Representatives and is now on its way to the Senate. The hope is that similar laws will be enacted in other states to protect the value of higher education for all.
“I think every organization across the country, including Moraine Valley, should ask itself in terms of alignment, what are the decisions that have to be made in the hands of humans that should not be in the hands of AI,” Swanson said.
The simple fact is that AI is making its way into all aspects of education. Whether people love or hate the technology, it’s not going away any time soon. For some, it is a good force that can transform the way schools work, but for others, it raises tough questions of how it can ethically fit into teaching. In the end, humans will be the ones to navigate these issues.
Velocity 
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