Practical AI for Instructors and Students Part 5: AI for Students

Summary

In this video, Professors Ilaj Malik and Ethan Malik discuss the integration of AI in education, focusing on how students can interact with AI tools. They highlight the importance of teaching students to critically evaluate AI output and take control of interactions. The video explores AI’s potential as a personal tutor and its role in enhancing flipped classrooms. However, it also addresses challenges like AI’s impact on writing assignments and plagiarism detection. The professors emphasize embracing AI while developing clear policies to guide its use in classrooms.

Takeaways

• 🎓 AI is becoming an essential part of education, with many educators integrating it into their classrooms.
• ⚠️ Students must understand that AI is not a real person and can make mistakes, hallucinate, or invent information, so they are responsible for verifying the output.
• 🧠 It's important for students to actively interact with AI by asking questions, clarifying confusion, and guiding the AI when needed.
• 📝 AI detection tools are unreliable, and detecting AI-generated work is very challenging, especially when used skillfully.
• 🤔 There are open questions about the nature of plagiarism in AI usage, and educators must define clear policies on AI use in assignments.
• 📊 In AI-based assignments, students are required to provide prompts they used and reflections on the AI’s usefulness, ensuring accountability.
• 💡 AI can be used as a personal tutor, offering tailored, high-dosage tutoring that helps students prepare better for class discussions.
• 📚 The flipped classroom model can benefit from AI tutoring, as students engage with material outside of class and actively participate during class.
• 🖋️ Essays and writing assignments are impacted by AI, and educators may need to adapt by incorporating more in-class writing tasks or rethinking how assignments are structured.
• 🔄 Embracing AI's potential for personalized education while being cautious of its limitations is crucial in evolving modern educational practices.

Q & A

What are the two ways the video suggests students use AI?

The video suggests students use AI in two ways: first, by giving students AI prompts to interact with the AI in a structured way, and second, by using AI as a tool for accomplishing tasks in class.

What should students keep in mind when interacting with AI?

Students should remember that AI is not a real person and can sometimes invent or hallucinate information. They are responsible for critically evaluating the AI's output, asking questions, and guiding the AI during interactions.

Why is it important for students to take control of AI interactions?

It’s important because students are in control of the AI interaction. If the AI gets stuck in a loop, students can redirect it, ensuring the AI remains helpful and accountable for the output.

Why is AI-based plagiarism hard to detect?

AI-based plagiarism is difficult to detect because current tools designed to identify AI writing are limited and often inaccurate. AI can make up information and be nearly undetectable when used effectively.

How does the professor handle AI use in his class?

The professor makes AI use mandatory in his class. Students are required to take responsibility for the output of their work, provide prompts they used, and write reflection paragraphs discussing the effectiveness of the AI.

What is a potential downside of relying on AI to detect plagiarism?

A potential downside is that AI can misidentify people as using AI when they haven't, and it’s not reliable in distinguishing AI-generated content from human-written content, especially if the students use sophisticated prompting techniques.

How can AI be used as a tutor according to the video?

AI can act as a personal tutor, drawing on a student's existing knowledge to help them understand concepts better. This is particularly useful in a flipped classroom model, where students use AI to gain foundational knowledge before engaging in discussions in class.

What are some warnings instructors should give when using AI as a tutor?

Instructors should warn students that AI tutors may give incorrect information or hallucinate, so students should carefully check the AI's output. AI isn't a replacement for human teachers, but it can supplement learning.

How can AI-based assignments change traditional classroom assessments?

AI-based assignments can transform traditional assessments, like essays, as students might use AI to generate ideas or even complete assignments. Instructors may need to adapt by conducting more in-class writing tasks and adjusting the types of assignments given outside of class.

What are the implications of students using AI in writing assignments?

The widespread use of AI for writing assignments means instructors can no longer rely on traditional essays as a primary learning tool. Instructors might have to test their assignments with AI to understand its capabilities and design tasks that encourage more critical thinking and collaboration.