The Impact of Artificial Intelligence: Part One: Faculties Perspective by: Brett Briggeman

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of the most defining forces of our generation. What once belonged to science-fiction now sits in our pockets, answers our questions, writes our emails and recommends what we watch next. As AI continues to evolve, it raises the question of what kind of impact it will have on our daily lives and how it will impact the educational experience and academia as a whole. 

Dr. Randy Rogers is the associate professor of Biblical Studies and Greek within the Logsdon School of Theology. His favorite part of his role revolves around student engagement.

“My favorite aspect of my role as professor is interacting with students, communicating truths about scripture and theology and preparing students for life after college,” Dr. Rogers said. 

When asked about his personal views on AI, Dr. Rogers said he is cautiously optimistic about the outcome and benefits of the technology. 

“I know that AI brings benefits to certain aspects of our society, especially in areas of workload efficiency,” Dr. Rogers said. “But as with all new technology and cultural advancement, changes in process do not tend to change our basic human nature. In this way, AI, like other technologies before us, will act more as a magnifier of our basic nature rather than act as a transforming agent of our nature.

In this sense, AI is only as good as the hearts and minds who use it. If we approach this new tool with cultural sensitivity, awareness and flourishing in mind, then the tool can produce some excellent value. If we approach it with laziness, entertainment and emptiness of mind, then we will produce things with less lasting value.  In the end, AI is a tool that reflects those using it. This begs the question, what does our current use of AI say about our society?”

When it comes to student engagement, Dr. Rogers separated the thought into two sections. 

“Do we mean student engagement in personal conversation?,” Dr. Rogers said, “Or do we mean student engagement with class materials? Well, It depends on how it is used.  AI can generate great conversation starters and thoughts for debate.  AI can quickly create problems and solutions that can generate learning.  But AI will only generate from the info that it is given.          Having incompetent programming—or asking the wrong questions—can severely limit AI's potential for creating student engagement. 

If AI is used by students to by-pass hard questions or time spent in wrestling with key thought problems, then AI is short-circuiting the student's life development (engagement with personal growth).”

Within his classes, Dr. Rogers said the impact has been minimal. However, he also said that within the Logsdon School of Theology here at Hardin-Simmons University (HSU), there are differences of opinion on how impactful it has been.

“There really has not been much impact,” Dr. Rogers said. “I have used AI to create false stories for students to correct. I have used AI to create schedules, outline and other basic information handouts. I have also used AI to create case studies. All of these projects required a great deal of editing and correction of the AI content.

In the Logsdon School, there is some resistance to the use of AI. Some professors utilize it sparingly. Others are very wary. Since we want to promote learning through struggling with hard questions and considering all options, the convenience of AI can short-circuit the learning process by providing easy answers to complex questions. Often, AI shortens the journey of learning—where the struggle is very much a part of the process.”

Dr. Rogers ended by explaining how AI is a threat to academia within the context of limiting individual student thought or experience. 

“AI is a threat in that it gives students the impression that facts and context do not matter,” Dr. Rogers said. “If AI can give us the information (facts) we seek, why do I need to learn it? This trivializes the learning of historical data and basic formulae. AI can create any number of scenarios in which known information is rearranged and placed in a new context. This is an amoral act by AI, but it produces false information that can deceive the reader. And without knowledge, students will be fooled into thinking they are obtaining facts when the context and arrangement is false. AI is often used as a short cut. It saves time, but it also bypasses an opportunity for personal development and intellectual growth. If the student only seeks the end result of a project without struggling with the process of research and writing, then AI is truly undermining the whole purpose of academia. This does not mean AI is an existential threat. There is a place for AI in our society. But in academia, students need to embrace the struggle of learning rather than taking the short-cut for fabricated answers as written by computer-generated databases.”

Dr, Laura Pogue is a  W. D. & Hollis Bond Professor of English. Dr. Pogue teaches writing and literature and serves as academic advisor to students intending to teach English in high school. Her favorite aspect of her role also revolves around her students. 

“My students are the absolute light of my job,” Dr. Pogue said. “To be able to share class with them is a privilege I do not take for granted.”

“In the world of teaching writing and using student writing to assess student knowledge, I have almost no use for artificial intelligence at all,” Dr. Pogue said. “In teaching literature, I have found A.I. regularly inaccurate. In areas of practical day-to-day tasks like online banking, record keeping, calendaring, shopping, driving, etc., I find A.I. useful, but I have deep concerns about any form of A.I. that engages in relationships with humans, for example A.I. counselors or chatbots.”

Dr. Pogue notes that, from her perspective, AI has severely impacted student engagement, essentially replacing it.

“A.I. appears to replace student engagement,” Dr. Pogue said. “I have found no student engagement increasing results of A.I. as a course tool to date. The amount of students turning in work not their own has jumped so much and so quickly that I have had to almost completely eliminate out-of-class writing in my freshman writing classes and severely reduce it in my advanced classes. For my online teaching, I have yet to find a method, including those offered in Canvas, to prevent students from replacing their own work with A.I.-generated work.”

Dr. Pogue also said that the professors within the English department at HSU are working to learn more about AI to better address its use within the department. 

“The English Faculty are making time to educate ourselves in A.I. and to explore possibilities for our students to engage with A.I. in ways that would help strengthen their critical thinking skills and strengthen their writing skills,” Dr. Pogue said. However, Dr. Pogue also spoke to the potential negative impact that AI could possibly have on academia and students across the board.

“I don’t want to sound apocalyptic, but this technology is the most significant threat to learning and brain development at the undergraduate level I have ever seen.” Dr. Pogue said.

For those interested in reading more about the impact of AI on cognition and brain development, Dr. Pogue recommended reading a research analysis from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), reviewing a study focused on these aspects. You can read about their results here: https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/

The impact of AI is undeniable. From the perspective of our faculty here at HSU, it would seem that we should be cautious about the use of AI, focusing more on personal thought and growth instead of using this technology as a crutch. The second part of this series will focus on the students' perspective on AI, as we have essentially been the guinea pigs for this technology and the effects that it can have.