The use of artificial intelligence has allowed us to rely more on technology for almost everything. But with that, is AI dumbing us down? Are we able to think critically?
A new study from MIT discussed a new problem called “metacognitive laziness” and how there is a red flag being raised in schools to embed AI tools into the classroom.
“Tell me about the history of the telegraph in the United States. We’re building on tools that allow people to come to their own models, at their own knowledge,” said Steve Schneider, an information design and technology professor in the new artificial intelligence exploration center at SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
“I think AI is a tool that unlocks human potential and capabilities and opportunities to advance knowledge and advance society,” said Schneider.
So, when it comes to AI, is it a cheat code for students or can it enhance their learning?
“Some faculty are really worried about students using generative AI to essentially replace their own judgment or their own learning,” said Andrew Russell, the provost and vice president of academic affairs at SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
He says it’s important for students to use AI — but the right way.
“Know its capabilities, know its limits and have a sense of when it’s good to apply it and perhaps when they should use something else because they’re going to need to use it when they get out into the world and work in jobs and graduate school after they graduate,” said Russell.
One thing they’re doing in the artificial intelligence exploration center is building new applications for people to access AI.
“And what we’re learning and trying to understand is how do people experience artificial intelligence,” said Schneider.
In class, students will be given a prompt with questions that they can chat into Gemini, Google’s AI model.
“What does it mean to you to think? What happens when you think? And ask them a couple of questions about thinking in cognition. After the students answer them with Gemini, Gemini will flip the script and say, OK, now you ask me questions about how I think and how I learn,” said Schneider.
The Gemini model will then produce a summary of the conversation. Students will then be directed to save that transcript.
“So we take all the 20 or 25 transcripts we get, we’re going to upload that to a large language model, that will generate basically a 10 or 12-minute podcast, audio text that summarizes all of the work that the students did,” said Schneider.
Schneider says this is how AI is allowing students to expand their capabilities.