What about AI? - Ranger College Library at Ranger College

BLUF: Probably not. At least no more than any other technology.

For those of you who are unaware, the library subscribes to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Please come by to read it sometime. This week, one of the headline articles is called The Student Brain on AI and the results are not nearly as bad as rumors and social media would have us believe. Let’s start with their assumptions: “Students use artificial-intelligence tools regularly to tutor themselves, organize their thoughts, spark ideas, and edit their writing. Is that weakening their ability to think?”

On the upside, I hope that students are using these terrific tools for exactly what the article states: tutoring, organizing, idea generation, and editing. I think those are the best uses. We run into problems when students use them to do the work for them. Last night I had a student in the library struggling to choose a topic. The “world issue” umbrella he was given was just too big. I sat him down and we put the assignment parameters into Gemini and asked it to provide a list of potential topics. It gave us about a dozen ideas. The student picked one and we started the appropriate research. Simple and useful. Personally, I don’t see that this rots a brain. Rather, it allows us to move past the drudgery and into the actual learning part.

The other important idea from the article is that journal articles about the effect of AI on the brain cannot be definitive. The target is moving too fast. “AI is now embedded in so many products that it’s impossible to isolate how it is shaping us. And, perhaps most significantly, learning is a complex process that is hard to define, let alone measure. Trying to determine the interplay between our use of technology and our own thinking is tricky.”

One thing is for sure: If an article about whether AI is good or bad is more than a minute old, it is probably out of date. Even this one.

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Homogeneity and AI Tutoring

Still referring to the Chronicle of Higher Education article, The Student Brain on AI, there is one other thing to consider. Researchers say that one of the most significant — and troubling — findings to them was that the essays written with the aid of ChatGPT showed a greater degree of homogeneity.” Being able to regurgitate facts is not really a goal of higher education. We want to teach them to think. That involves looking at issues from various points of view and developing opinions. You could always include as part of your assignment that they have to provide a statement of stance.One thing we have to consider is that people will always opt for convenience, especially under stress. Most students think they are under stress (just wait until they face the real world, right?) Even professors take short cuts. The problem isn’t really AI, it is the wrong use of AI. That is what this blog is all about – finding good uses for AI. You could consider an AI Tutor, like Tutor AI. As a teacher, you can create a course around your own content and the AI provides the tools students need to understand the assignment. The AI program can create flashcards, tutorials, exercises, and more. It is probably worth a few minutes of your time to see what it can do....

New technology and social panic

There was a lot of great information in last week’s Chronicle of Higher Education article called The Student Brain on AI. One important point it makes is that change is hard.“New technology has always brought with it social panic. Commentators argued that the telephone would be ruinous to families because women would spend more time gossiping.”And another one: “When the internet and search engines began to be an integral part of life, people worried about their effect on our memory and intelligence. As a viral 2008 article put it, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” “ Well, I will give that one a little credit. Google has ruined our ability to identify false or bad information. Then again, information literacy is a topic that can be taught.One important facet was explained by Derek Bruff, associate director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Virginia, wrote about the MIT study. “When we ask students to do things that are neither interesting nor relevant to their personal or professional lives, they look for shortcuts.” That has always been true. Today the tool is different....

Does AI rot your brain?

BLUF: Probably not. At least no more than any other technology.For those of you who are unaware, the library subscribes to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Please come by to read it sometime. This week, one of the headline articles is called The Student Brain on AI and the results are not nearly as bad as rumors and social media would have us believe. Let’s start with their assumptions: “Students use artificial-intelligence tools regularly to tutor themselves, organize their thoughts, spark ideas, and edit their writing. Is that weakening their ability to think?”On the upside, I hope that students are using these terrific tools for exactly what the article states: tutoring, organizing, idea generation, and editing. I think those are the best uses. We run into problems when students use them to do the work for them. Last night I had a student in the library struggling to choose a topic. The “world issue” umbrella he was given was just too big. I sat him down and we put the assignment parameters into Gemini and asked it to provide a list of potential topics. It gave us about a dozen ideas. The student picked one and we started the appropriate research. Simple and useful. Personally, I don’t see that this rots a brain. Rather, it allows us to move past the drudgery and into the actual learning part.The other important idea from the article is that journal articles about the effect of AI on the brain cannot be definitive. The target is moving too fast. “AI is now embedded in so many products that it’s impossible to isolate how it is shaping us. And, perhaps most significantly, learning is a complex process that is hard to define, let alone measure. Trying to determine the interplay between our use of technology and our own thinking is tricky.”One thing is for sure: If an article about whether AI is good or bad is more than a minute old, it is probably out of date. Even this one....

Small bites

I think AI can be a bit overwhelming. That is why I started this blog. I also think I have pretty average tech skills. The parts I know, I know really well, but mostly I know what can be done, not necessarily how to do it. I am also really good at watching YouTube tutorials. A lot of us fall into that category. Well, AI is another tool in that toolbox. The general, generative AIs, like Gemini or ChatGPT, are super easy to use and the responses are almost conversational. When you are struggling to get Google to understand what you are asking for, try an AI. Small bites are always good. Instead of doing a bunch of research for my Heritage Trail windows, I asked it to name two fun things to do in every county in the Pecos Trail region. It did exactly that. If you want to know what they were, read VP Arca's weekly newsletter for my More than Just Books articles. These little things are a great way to familiarize yourself with using AI and learning all the ways they can help, without making you feel like you are cheating....

Does AI rot your brain?

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