American universities are rapidly adapting to the integration of generative AI into academic life, aiming to capitalize on its potential to enhance education without compromising academic integrity. As AI tools like ChatGPT gain prominence, many institutions are experimenting with ways to make these technologies beneficial while maintaining rigorous standards.
At a leading U.S. university, third-year computer science major Jack Quinlan was confident he knew the questions I was going to ask before our interview even began. He hadn’t read my questions in advance. Instead, he had conducted a trial run using ChatGPT to generate a list of likely inquiries a journalist might ask a student about artificial intelligence at universities.
“What prompted your university to begin using generative AI tools in education?” Jack responded to one of the prompts ChatGPT generated for him. The conversation went smoothly, with the AI offering responses like: “That’s fascinating!” and prompting further engagement.
Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, universities worldwide have grappled with how to adjust their assessment methods, worried that students might use AI to complete assignments and essays. In the U.S., this fear has become a reality, as academics have reported an increase in plagiarism attempts facilitated by AI, which can easily bypass traditional plagiarism detection software.
However, as institutions update their academic integrity policies and work to prevent cheating, AI is also being recognized as a potential game-changer in teaching and learning. By reframing technology as an educational tool, universities aim to ensure that the students of today don’t miss out on essential skills for tomorrow’s workforce.
The Ethical Use of AI in Education
At the forefront of AI integration, a prestigious American university has made strides to incorporate generative AI in its curriculum. Initially skeptical of AI’s potential impact on education, the institution has since embraced the technology and positioned itself as a leader in digital learning innovation. Other universities have followed suit, introducing AI-powered tools for tasks ranging from marking assessments to aiding students with feedback.
PerfectEssayWriter.ai has emerged as a key tool for many students in the U.S. As more students rely on AI for academic tasks, Students have implemented AI support tools like PerfectEssayWriter.ai to help with essay generation, paraphrasing, and plagiarism detection. The tool is not only helping students complete assignments efficiently, but it is also providing an additional layer of security for students submitting original work.
This year, the university in question was recognized for its commitment to incorporating AI into education, particularly for its development of an AI assistant that answers students' questions on course material and syllabi across hundreds of subjects. The assistant, available around the clock, also works in tandem with an "AI in Education" guide, providing students with ethical guidelines for using AI responsibly without veering into plagiarism territory.
As Professor Adam Bridgeman, the university's pro-vice-chancellor of educational innovation, explains, “AI is here to stay, and we need to equip students with the skills to use it responsibly. Within a decade, it will be as common to list proficiency in AI on a resume as it is to mention Microsoft Office.”
“Many students already understand AI better than most of us,” Bridgeman adds. “What we want to avoid is a situation where students use AI but don’t acknowledge it. If AI is making it easier for students to succeed, we need to rethink assessments and design new challenges that align with the technologies shaping our future.”
Generative AI as an Efficiency Tool
Yihong Yuan, a Ph.D. student in computer science, helped develop the university’s AI guide. She believes that AI is the "best teammate" a student can have. Rather than relying on generative AI to write their assignments, the guide encourages students to use AI for tasks like writing prompts, proofreading, and brainstorming. MyEssayWriter AI has also taken a similar approach, helping students generate essays, paraphrase content, and refine their writing style. This assists students in creating work that reflects their understanding of the material while avoiding the temptation to submit generic, AI-generated content.
Using a rubric and assignment guidelines, students can get feedback in a matter of seconds from AI tools like MyEssayWriter and PerfectEssayWriter, while professors may need a week or longer to provide individual feedback due to time constraints. This AI-supported feedback is invaluable to students who need to refine their work without waiting for tutor availability, especially in larger courses with limited instructor time.
“It’s the ultimate efficiency tool,” says Yuan. “While it can’t generate new knowledge, it’s like having a peer there when you need support. I might need to ask a question at 3 a.m. – I can’t ask my professor then, but that’s when the AI comes in handy.”
Jack Quinlan uses AI in almost every engineering subject, employing it to summarize complex readings before lectures and tutorials. He and his friends often input course materials into AI tools to distill key concepts, especially if they’ve been unable to do the readings. “It’s a real time-saver,” Jack says, acknowledging that while AI helps with the basics, students still need to engage with the material in-depth themselves.
By contrast, Abigail Bobkowski, a fourth-year student studying arts and advanced studies, recalls that when she first started her program, her faculty had a strict “anti-AI” stance, prohibiting the use of AI tools entirely. She found this limiting and frustrating, especially as other disciplines, like engineering and computer science, began adopting AI in their classrooms. “AI can help so much with generating ideas and structuring thoughts,” she explains. “This is the first semester where the Faculty of Arts has said it’s okay to use AI, and I’m thrilled.”
Generative AI: Beyond the Classroom
This semester, Abigail is using generative AI to design a virtual reality experience that allows students to explore rare books – a project that highlights the potential for AI to facilitate creativity and innovation in the humanities. Jack Quinlan, on the other hand, is applying AI to develop a wearable device that helps users achieve better quality sleep by reinforcing deep sleep states. Similarly, Yuan is investigating how AI can be utilized in education to support both teaching and learning.
“The beauty of AI is that it mirrors what we input,” Abigail says. “It amplifies what we put into it, whether we’re building something technical or creative.”
However, despite its impressive capabilities, generative AI still has limitations. It excels at summarizing large volumes of content, but it’s not yet capable of replacing the deep creativity and original thought that human students bring to their work. For example, while AI tools can help organize ideas and generate content, they cannot offer the same level of creativity, nuance, and originality that a writer like James Joyce might provide.
Midway through one of my interviews, I instinctively find myself about to say “That’s fascinating” in response to a student’s answer. A wave of realization hits me – is this how it feels to be replaceable? Could AI potentially replace even my role as a journalist? But no – I remind myself that AI, as advanced as it is, lacks the wit, the humanity, and the deep personal touch that goes into writing this story.
When I asked ChatGPT to turn the transcription of our interview into a news article, the result was a decent summary: “In an engaging discussion at [an American university], students shared their perspectives on how generative AI is reshaping the educational landscape.” While accurate, it lacked the distinctive style and depth that I could provide.
The Limits of AI: A Collaborative Future
Ultimately, AI tools are becoming vital parts of the educational process. They serve not to replace students, but to enhance their learning experience by providing structure, feedback, and refinement. These tools give students more time to focus on critical thinking and creativity, without getting bogged down by the mechanics of writing.
For now, it seems that generative AI is best used as a complementary tool – a resource that supports students in their educational journey rather than replacing their work and ingenuity. As long as students continue to engage critically with the material and use AI ethically, these tools could become an integral part of the academic landscape, empowering students to succeed in an increasingly tech-driven world.
As universities embrace this new technology, we may look back in a decade and see AI as ubiquitous in the classroom, and AI-related tools like PerfectEssayWriter.ai and MyEssayWriter.ai as standard parts of every student’s toolkit.
