Psychology freshman Sarah Lawor is well aware of the sicknesses that can go around college dorms, but she experienced some symptoms that did not align with anything she had dealt with before. Without the typical resources that she would turn to at home, she resorted to something new. 

"Normally I would ask my mom when something is wrong, but I was here at MSU and it was too late to call her," Lawor said. "So I asked ChatGPT about my symptoms."

Lawor said that she used ChatGPT as opposed to other online sources such as WebMD or Google because of its conversational aspect. The AI tool answered the questions she asked and asked follow up questions, allowing Lawor to dig deeper into her symptoms. She concluded that she had appendicitis and was able to get medical help before a larger emergency arose.

"It was like having a conversation with a doctor, which prompted me to go to the emergency room and talk to a real doctor," Lawor said. "Had it not been for that, I probably would’ve convinced myself that I was fine and that I could’ve pushed through the pain without knowing the severity."

Lawor’s situation is just one example of how ChatGPT and other AI tools can positively impact peoples' daily lives. Among college students, AI’s most popular use is in the classroom. Human biology freshman Gabby Longoria said that AI can be helpful when it comes to clarifying something that she is confused about, or for giving deeper explanations and examples so that she can better understand an assignment. Longoria said overuse, however, can be problematic. 

"AI can be beneficial as a last resort," Longoria said. "But it’s becoming something that a lot of people are dependent on."

Extreme use of AI poses questions about the impact it could have on students once they begin their careers. Longoria said she is worried about the reflex that some students have developed when it comes to AI. Rather than working a problem out, Longoria said, things get immediately copied and pasted into ChatGPT.

"I hear students talk about not being able to get through a class without using AI, it’s just doing their work for them," Longoria said. "It’s going to be a long term problem. People who are pre-health, for example, can’t use AI on the job."

Lawor said AI is almost inescapable. While there are websites that claim to detect AI in assignments, Lawor said she has noticed that students have developed ways to get around that, making the work of a computer sound a little more human.

"It’s becoming difficult to differentiate between who is doing their work and who is using ChatGPT," Lawor said. "It’s making school much more competitive, to the point where people might feel like they need to use it just to keep up."

Additionally, relying on AI might diminish important skills over time. Longoria said that constantly summarizing and simplifying assignments could affect literary skills and the ability to understand something on a deeper level. Animal science freshman Harper Holland said it can restrict what a student gets out of their education.

"It’s like a cheat code," Holland said. "You have all the answers so readily available to you. It’s nice in the moment but later on it’s going to limit your learning."

Holland said it is no secret that many students use AI on their assignments and professors are well aware of that. She said one of her professors took note of this and used it for his students’ benefit, creating a chat bot to answer their questions.

"I thought it was cool that he leaned into it so it could help us," Holland said. "People are going to use it regardless, it’s not going anywhere. Instead of pretending like it wasn’t there, he made it into a study tool for us."

AI's presence in education has become the new normal, but students and professors are adapting. Rather than trying to hide it, Lawor said AI should be embraced so that it can be used advantageously instead of used behind a professor’s back.

"The more that people push AI away, the more students are going to use it," Lawor said. "It’s important that we try to integrate it more into our schooling, but in a way that students and teachers alike have the same standards for how it should be used."