AI is fantastic. But what should you be using it for?

“The next assessment component is a project, which includes data collection, analysis, and a report!” I announced. I expected shock, resentment, and dismay. But no, they were as cool as a cucumber! “I will be there to help, of course!” I announced, but no one was listening.

I don’t think there is any need to tell what happened next. By the deadline, neat project reports were lined up, containing typical Artificial Intellligence-generated text, including the bold lettering! The truth came out very soon during viva, and long fancy titles exposed their inadequacies, and very obviously, their dependency on Gen AI. The nervous smiles, darting eyes, and inability to answer simple questions showed that it was just a copy-and-paste, without probably even reading their reports.

“What’s wrong with that? Aren’t AI tools supposed to make our work easy?” one might think. Yes, nothing wrong as long as we use AI as a tool, not as our crutch, lest we forget how to walk. When we outsource all our thinking and analysis, our brains quiet down and grow quieter.

“Yes, I feel my learning has reduced to a large extent. I click a picture of my assignment questions and put it on Gen AI. It produces the answer in a jiffy, I have to write it down, as my professor insists on handwritten work!” admits Yamini, a third-semester engineering student. “If I didn’t do that, I would be getting screenshots, or worse, a link to the solution!” jokes Prof Sarathy, her math faculty.

What is the most obvious problem with going for AI each time and not using our brains? “Brains take time to get active when we don’t give them enough challenges,” says Uma, a counsellor at a prestigious college. “It gets into the lazy mode and stays there.”

“Let me be honest — AI is fantastic. It can explain concepts, give real-life examples, help draft ideas, clear doubts, and even generate practice questions. Imagine it as a friend who never gets irritated with your stupidity and who is always on call. But should that friend replace your thinking? Absolutely not. Because at the end of the day, it is what employers, viva panels, and life itself will test.” I minced no words as I gave my feedback.

Just because you have Google Maps, will you be able to drive without knowing? If we blindly follow the app, we may end up in a lake, rather than a destination. AI is meant to give answers, but you should not stop asking questions. The entire point of education is to trigger your curiosity, prod you to explore, figure things out, make mistakes, and learn. Don’t lean on AI when your feet can support you. 

Will you open your smartphones when there is a problem at work, and many eyes are fixed on you at the brainstorming session? Maybe you can if your co-workers are glued to their phones too! But that isn’t very likely in a real-world setting, not as of now.

So, use AI to spark your ideas, not smother them with the whole script. Use it to learn, not to escape the pangs of learning.

“Because years down the line, when you’re handling projects, solving problems, leading teams, or making decisions, it won’t be AI sitting in that chair with you. It’ll be you,  your mind, your judgment, your creativity, your confidence,” says Arathi, who teaches psychology at a university.” This can’t be copied and pasted from anywhere!”

So go ahead, use AI. Just don’t let it use you. Trust your intelligence, give your brain what it deserves.

(The author is an academic)