Abstract:

Artificial intelligence (AI) took off in the work and learning environments during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Since then, it has evolved exponentially to become immersed in virtually all corners of society. In education, research indicates as much as 75% of students are using AI for most of their writing assignments. Further, 60% or higher of students claim they use AI at least for paraphrasing or outlining assignments. This is only part of the picture. AI is ubiquitous in personal daily life and the workplace. Employers use it in a plethora of applications. The universities – who are concerned about student use – apply AI applications in their operations. Employers have reason to expect employees will know and understand AI, demanding that it be part of the educational landscape. But educators are quickly finding that the traditional tools used for checking various types of plagiarism are ineffective in AI detection. While this is a compelling ethical concern for educators, AI poses another serious concern, a dark spectre threatening students’ mental health: addiction. Studies have indicated that addiction to use of AI is a real phenomenon, abetted by lack of proper guidance and oversight. Students who demonstrate an increasing dependency on AI, such as generative AI and chatbots, tend to have a difficult time in cutting back their usage of AI or even understanding how these technological enhancements supersede application of their own intellectual capacity. It is the use of the AI that becomes the central activity to achieve a goal. They find, for example, that with AI’s taking over research and writing they can take more courses at a time while seemingly do less work themselves. But it is more than convenience. The ease and interactive feedback with the use of AI becomes an addictive pattern contributing to cognitive offloading. Along with concern for addictive reliance on AI use, there are the negative effects of uncertainty and anxiety in using AI. A large percentage of students claim heightened stress levels linked to AI use, with 66 percent of students reporting some level of anxiety about incorporating AI into their studies. Students report concerns about academic integrity, accidental plagiarism, confusion, and anxiety with the use of AI. So, what can educators do about this? First, recognize there is a problem. Second, learn to identify how students are using AI. Third, be interactive with both students and classroom design. Utilize educational materials and interactive assessments that are not amenable or dependent upon AI’s linear process. Educators do not need to combat AI by discouraging or punishing its use. That is unrealistic and defeating. Rather, the challenge is to teach students that AI is a tool to be used creatively, ethically, and responsibly -- not as a substitute for learning.

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence, mental health, addiction, academic integrity.