AI in College

April 27, 2025

I’ll be honest: when AI tools like ChatGPT and others started becoming popular, I was excited to utilize the "tools" just like everybody else. This meant that now we could just copy and paste the question to get the answer, and keep going without spending too much time on the current task or assignment. Or, having to spend more time on projects when we can just use AI to think for us. The idea of having a "virtual assistant" that can answer questions, help brainstorm ideas, summarize articles, and proofread papers is awesome.

However, as I've progressed through college and been involved in group projects, I’ve noticed that my colleagues have completely forgotten how to think on their own without using AI. I've had group members that lack creativity and technical knowledge because they aren't used to coming up with their own ideas and haven't learned any skills — Instead of utilizing these AI tools, people have gotten used to abusing AI to get through challenges without truly learning anything.

I am a believer in repetition — Doing something for the first time may be difficult at first, but the next time you do it, it will be easier to do because you now have experience from doing it before. Doing an activity repeatedly will improve your muscle memory, critical thinking skills, and the ability to act fast.

Practicing provides experience, consistency, and speed.

At first, AI felt harmless. I told myself, “I’m just using it to get started” or “I’m too busy this week, I’ll just let it help me a little more.” But that little bit easily turned into letting it do the work for me, and I realized that I absorbed none of the knowledge and experience. I would express to colleagues how an assignment is difficult to begin after just recently covering the material, and they would tell me to just write it with AI. It's not my intent to be annoying, but when did not using your brain become cool?

I was hoping to discuss ideas and proper solutions to help eachother, yet I was basically just told to cheat.

Who would want to hire somebody that depends on the internet for everything they know? Just seems lazy and absurd, and this is what our world has become. People have normalized this. I'm not sure if this is funny or depressing, but I have asked a team member for help before, and they told me to hold on while they ChatGPT it. Bro, why do we need you if all of your brainpower is in a tool that the rest of us have access to? 

The scary part is how normal it has become. No one even talks about it like it’s cheating anymore. Instead, it’s seen as “working smarter, not harder", but deep down I know that people who abuse AI are cheating themselves and doing more harm than good, and they are cheating us. College shouldn't just be about getting good grades — we should be pushing ourselves to think critically, to research, to struggle through problems and come out smarter on the other side. The experience of college is more rich when you ask friends and colleagues for help — We can grow through struggle and finding a solution together, bringing us closer to eachother and pushing us to collaborate and socialize. If everyone wants to use AI as a companion instead of interacting with the world, go for it. It just seems isolating and anti-social.

When AI does the thinking for us, we miss out on the learning experience.

Instead of treating it like a shortcut, I have been using it as a tool — a brainstorming partner, not a ghostwriter. I want to leave college proud of what I accomplished, not relying on an artificial brain to get me through.

So...

If everyone in a competitive world uses AI to their advantage, is it a disadvantage to reject it and not utilize it?

Berkin