In 2024, high school and college students have the ability to churn out writing assignments in seconds. Students can turn in essays and projects written by clicking a few buttons. As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, more accessible and more prominent in academia, our productivity and creativity as students slowly crumbles. 

When I am struggling with an assignment and ask a friend for help, the most common response I receive is: “Just ChatGPT it.” Whether students need to create an outline for an essay, answer a quiz or respond to a confrontational or awkward text message, ChatGPT is always there to save the day.  

Beyond ChatGPT, I can search the internet for an AI tool to help me do basically anything —create a song, produce a podcast on a topic of my choice, make a PowerPoint presentation or even generate photos of myself.  

In a world where AI is the new norm, colleges must know that students will take advantage of them. In some classes, professors even encourage them to be used. Walter Isaacson, Tulane University ’s Leonard Lauder professor of American history and values, teaches a class where students learn how AI can be used for productivity and learn to compare the work of AI tools to human work. I am not advocating against integrating these fascinating tools into teaching, but I do see a problem with their continued abuse by students.  

The fact of the matter is if students do not feel like critically thinking or being creative, they do not have to. If a student does not want to put effort into an assignment, no problem — AI is there to help! As these AI tools rapidly develop, how much further will our brains deteriorate? How little effort and critical thinking will be required to complete a seemingly complex task? 

While AI can be convenient for when I feel lazy, it only worsens my laziness. Frankly, students are growing more stupid as AI use grows. Students are also becoming less self-reliant: They are less motivated, and they do not work as hard.  

Yes, we can find balance with these tools and use them in a productive manner. But where do we draw the line? When does this universal dependency on computers to complete everything for us end?