Artificial intelligence (AI) doesn't always have a good reputation, especially in education, leaving many people to think about how AI affects education negatively.
When AI launched in a tangible form that the average Joe (and the eager-to-do-less-work student) could use, educators quickly raised concerns. ChatGPT was the teacher's nemesis because, as you would expect, students were using the technology to complete their studies and, in some cases, their final papers.
And still, now, a study by Trinity College London found one-third of teachers think AI in the classroom should be banned—but one-quarter of teachers are using it—with 74% of teachers believing AI misuse by students will forever be an ongoing problem.
The statistics give a conflicted picture, but it's not necessarily all doom and gloom. AI does have some benefits in education; it's about striking an essential balance.
Still, we're here to focus on the negatives of AI use in education. Read on to find out more.
Negative #1: Students Are Using AI to Cheat
New research from Study.com has some interesting statistics about students using AI to cheat—and yes, sorry, students, getting AI to write a paper for you is cheating.
- 48% of students use ChatGPT for an at-home test or quiz.
- 53% had ChatGPT write an essay
- 22% had it write an outline for a paper (not technically cheating).
The result is plagiarism, cheating, and stunted learning.
And it's scarier than you think. An INSIDER report talked about researchers who asked ChatGPT to complete the United States Medical Licensing exam, and it almost passed. And that was probably without training it precisely on what it needed to—we guarantee AI could pass.
The only holy grail is that, now, most online Turnitin-style systems have AI checkers built in. Still, some students are clever enough to figure out how to trick the system.
Negative #2: Bias and Unethical Results
AI bias and unethical results have always been a big problem that would affect learning. Meta-analysis found that out of 555 AI models, 83.1% of them had a high risk of bias, making it one of the primary disadvantages of AI in education.
What does that mean? AI bias essentially means you can get the system to be biased towards what you want it to be, producing results unfairly favoring groups of people or being disadvantages toward them. These distorted and potentially damaging results aren't appropriate for education.
One example is the Google AI Overviews launch. The launch was nothing short of an epic fail and highlighted how easy it is to manipulate and skew original training data to give false results. One example of an outlandish AI Overview search result was the engine telling users it's OK to make a pizza using glue. It’s unethical to teach people to make pizza using glue.
Negative #3: Lack of Human Engagement
Where's the human engagement in AI? If you’re asking how does AI affect education negatively? This is one of the biggest ways.
Despite how hard it's trying, AI still can't understand and replicate human emotions the way humans can.
We will say that using AI to do teaching plans or assignment outlines is fine, as long as the outlines are only the subtitles. If teachers or students are asking AI to do all the work for them, it takes away the human element of learning and the connection higher education professionals have with their students.
The reduction in face-to-face interactions can and will negatively impact learning, making it tricky for students to grasp concepts and comprehend what they're learning.
Negative #4: AI Isn't Always Correct
People make the mistake of thinking AI knows everything. And yes, it does know a lot, but it knows as much as it knows if that makes sense, and what it knows isn't always correct. Even at the bottom of a ChatGPT conversation, it says, 'ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.'
A recent study published by Defense One found AI tools are incorrect 1/4 of the time, which is a pretty high number to think it's OK to rely on for educational purposes. And again, the Google AI Overviews is an example of just how wrong AI can be.
Higher education professionals and students simply can't trust every answer AI gives, and that in itself is simply unacceptable for learning.
Negative #5: Privacy Issues
The AI Security and Governance report had some interesting statistics about the privacy issues surrounding AI.
80% of data experts thought AI increases data security issues. 55% of experts also thought AI could possibly inadvertently expose sensitive information, and it's one of their biggest concerns, and 57% reported AI-driven attacks over the last 12 months.
For education professionals and vulnerable students, this is an absolute no-go. Student online safety and data security should be of the utmost importance to higher education professionals.
You simply can't, for now, trust that AI isn't accessing data that it shouldn't.
Negative #6: Disengagement in Learning
Students relying on AI are essentially numbing themselves to the concept of learning. When you can ask AI to do anything for you, students can simply sit back and go on the, in their opinion, much more interesting TikTok.
There's no critical thinking, analysis, or evaluation involved. And according to Psych4Schools, 25% of students already feel disengaged in their learning; there doesn't need to be a reason for that number to increase. Students must be engaged with real-life learning experiences and simulations for learning to be impactful.
Finding the Balance
Are you still asking ‘Why is AI bad for education?’ We don't necessarily think AI in the classroom is negative, but the negative effects of artificial intelligence in education speak for themselves.
It's how higher education students and teachers use it and find a positive balance of using it in education. There still needs to be creativity, emotion, and real classroom teacher-to-student engagement for education to be impactful.
A 2019 study published on the Taylor and Francis online platform about the teacher and student connection found students who feel connected to their teachers are more engaged, perform better, and are more likely to attend their studies.
More than that, higher education students need the real-life experiences AI simply can't and will not give. That's where striking a balance is essential. Higher education teachers and professionals can still leverage technology to create meaningful human interactions.
One example is using interactive learning tools focusing on real-world applications. For example, business simulations offered by StratX Simulations or work experiences in a related field.
Without that interactivity with the real world and the human connection, students can't apply what they're learning.
What is your opinion on AI in the classroom? The negatives of AI don't necessarily mean teachers and students can't use it effectively, but it can't be a substitute for real, humanized teaching and real-world experiences.
