“Egregious. I mean, that's the word I keep coming to” is what KP said during a recent discussion about the surge in AI use across our community. I met with a panel of teachers, college counselors, and students to discuss the cancellation of the iconic ad project as well as the general increase in use of AI. We discussed what we felt was being taken away from our community by using AI rather than developing individual voices. According to the Center for Democracy and Technology, about 86% of students in the U.S. use AI. This number is staggering: relying on something else to do your work can harm your learning. The cancelling of the ad project, because of the fear of AI cheating, may seem like a relief to students, but it's a loss of an amazing opportunity for growth. Jane Borst said that “I feel like we learned really valuable skills that I can continue to use in college.” In our panel, we came up with 5 C’s that summarize what we feel AI is taking away from the learning experience: challenge, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and confidence. This article will dive deeper into these 5 things as well as other concerns students and teachers have about the rise of AI.

Challenge. AI is taking away the need to struggle, if you're stuck on a difficult math problem or English thesis, you can simply ask Chat GPT to do it for you. There is no need to struggle through the challenge of it. Dr. Kogan spoke about how the ad project was a great source of challenge, but “[the teachers] were there to guide you through and know your capacities to do hard work and to do critical thinking.” By canceling the ad project, it's taking away a great opportunity to overcome and grow from challenges. According to the Kyoto University of Advanced Science, “learning is likely to enhance well-being and learning outcomes,” by taking away struggle it takes away growth and learning.

Creativity. Another aspect of learning that AI can take away is creativity. AI can create theses or craft ideas, processes that are essential to learning. Although research papers don’t seem like creative endeavors, they are. Through the linking of ideas and themes, they are remarkably creative. When students create the ideas themselves, it expands neural connections and deepens learning. Senior Hans Baker claimed that the ad project was “more about creativity and being able to discover things and create connections." The loss of creative thinking will hurt both learning and the general ability to create ideas.

Collaboration. A less obvious concept that AI is taking from our community is collaboration. There has been a large pivot from asking peers and teachers for help to just asking AI. In our own school, visits to the writing center for peer help have fallen. According to the National Board of Education, “[c]ollaborative learning has been shown to not only develop higher-level thinking skills in students, but boost their confidence and self-esteem as well.” These perks to collaboration are entirely necessary to developing as both learners and people. 

Critical thinking. To KP, the ad project was a “meaningful, challenging, and intellectual experience where [students] had that [mental] breakthrough.” The teachers and students whom I talked to said that the critical thinking skills the ad project provided were unmatched. Through hours of research and finding connections, the ad project was extremely challenging but brought out the biggest light bulb moments. But these moments are being stripped away as AI takes over our need for deep thinking and understanding. KP was on the verge of tears as she reflected on the way the ad project was “oh, so rewarding" because of the way it makes students use their critical thinking skills.

Confidence. The last pillar we discussed was confidence. KP explained that “as students begin to solely rely on AI to do their work, they begin to conflate their voice with AI. Soon they won't have a voice. Soon they won't have confidence.” This mental spiraling into lack of confidence will begin as a lack of confidence in their writing and schoolwork, but it can quickly transfer to every part of their lives. 

Ultimately the concern surrounding the use of AI is not just about cheating or convenience. It’s about the loss of ability to learn and grow. Dr. Kogan is worried because AI “becomes addictive” and the students “outsource their own competence for everything.” Students are losing confidence in their own voice and selves because they don’t trust their own ideas. They believe whatever AI has to say will be better than their own words. However, KP had a more emotional idea about what AI is taking away, KP described that the ad project had “joy, right? 
I mean, it is, it is joy” because of the way the breakthrough after the struggle creates a sense of pride and happiness. As AI takes away the joy and ability of learning, it's important to reflect on whether you want that taken from you.