My School Wants Me to Use AI for Homework. Do I Have a Choice?

speaker-0: Hi, I'm Allison. This is Dear Teen. You ask, I answer honestly. I have a teen with me in the studio today who has a little bit of a cold. So thank you for being here. The question that we got that we're supposed to answer is: my school is teaching us to learn with an AI And I don't want to do it should I have a choice. So what is your thought on this?

speaker-1: I think you should always have a choice with tools. I mean, obviously you're always gonna get homework, but you should be able to choose whether you're gonna use a tool for it. 'Cause a tool's just meant to help you.

speaker-0: So a calculator, should you be able to choose if you use a calculator or if you just do it in your head? yeah.

speaker-1: Because if you know you can do it in your head then you don't need a calculator. You don't need such a tool.

speaker-0: I agree with you. I was just throwing that out there because you said a tool. So you know, I I've heard this from multiple students. And the thing that shocks me about the question and that I love about this question is that my generation, you know, older people, we are online constantly saying that you guys are all, you know, using Chat GPT to do your homework, you're all cheating, you know, that you're gonna be this generation that's lost and all of this. And I think it's beautiful to hear somebody kind of contradict this and say, Hey, I want I want to talk about this because no, it's not true. We don't all want this and we're not all cheating. What do you think about seeing people online being so negative about your generation?

speaker-1: I think for lack of a better word, it's just a bit prejudiced 'cause they're not taking the time to learn about our generation because then they'd know that it's a small minority that genuinely actively use so much AI. I think it's also it's a bit useless to be so rude about the younger generation. And like it's always been like the cycle that you you have a child, they take care of you after you're older. It's just it's rude and needless and It's not like they've taken the time to learn.

speaker-0: Okay, so what would you want people to understand about your generation and what you're living through also with just technology and AI that's coming into the picture right now?

speaker-1: I'd want them to to understand that we don't really think it's that good. We're all absolutely terrified of it. We don't like it at all. And it's dangerous and it just doesn't help you as much as they wanted it to.

speaker-0: gonna take one of these questions at a time. You said, you're terrified of it. Can can you explain what you think people are terrified of?

speaker-1: Well, it's taking people's jobs. People are dependent Like people are getting fired 'cause AI can do it more efficiently and better. So then the job market's going haywire. And then also like people are becoming dependent on it because it's just it's meant to make you like it. It's an algorithm, so it wants you to stay on it. So it's a yes man, it it's a yes machine actually. It does it just always agrees with you and it does whatever you want it to, 'cause that's its job. But then people become dependent. And they grow attached to it and they like it too much and it's disturbing.

speaker-0: What you just said is very beautiful. It's a yes machine because it is in a way. There's a word that I've used on this well on Dear Tween before I was teaching a younger person that the word sycophantic, which basically is somebody who's just constantly agreeing with you and that's basically a yes man. So that is exactly right. I think it's understandable that you are scared of it. I think it's understandable that you see people getting dependent on it. Have you seen anyone in your you know, school that you think maybe they are becoming too dependent on it. Have you heard any crazy stories?

speaker-1: Yeah, there are. There's so many of them. It's it's just kinda sad. People like texting it as if it's their best friend, asking them social questions, as if they don't have like friend actual living friends. 'Cause AI, I can see how it can be helpful. But if you're like asking it something especially to do with like your own social circle, it won't get the context. It can't give you the best answer.

speaker-0: No, it can't. I think that, you know, when it comes to our generation misunderstanding you, I think first of all we misunderstand how you use AI because you just went on to a tangent about it being social, you know, people using it for connection, asking it private Questions, chatting with it like a friend. And a few kids told me. But it doesn't judge you, so you won't be embarrassed. So I think that we just get into this thing, adults my age, where we're thinking of grades and homework and how you might be using it in a really different way. And I've seen teachers give homework with AI. And I do think to the person who asked this question, you should not have to use AI. for homework. If you don't want to, you just have to communicate that well to your school. And I I kind of want you to know that you're not alone. I wanna read you a statistic and I'm gonna see if this surprises you. So a group called RAND did a study in 2026. And it says among students who don't use AI for schoolwork at all, 78% agreed it harms critical thinking. And even among those using it for three or more classes, 53% still said it harmed critical thinking. I had a student last year who said, I don't think you adults understand. how much we feel like we have to use it to compete with the other people who are using it and how we can realize it's actively making us dumber.

speaker-1: It's very easy to not give us enough credit with how much we've realized and how we don't we know it's not the best for us, but we have to because if one person uses it, they get better grades than everyone else, which changes the bell curve. So then you need to catch up with your own.

speaker-0: So what do you wish schools would do to tackle this? you're right in the thick of it. Your perspective.

speaker-1: In a perfect world I'd like it to not be used at all 'cause I think it's a bit needless. But I'd like for schools to just start start off slow by teaching us the dangers of it and what's wrong with it, 'cause there's so many things. Through hallucinations and like just being a yes man and knowing you can't it's not a person, you can't trust it.

speaker-0: So I'm gonna ask you a a personal question Has your school actively taught you about the dangers of AI?

speaker-1: No, never.

speaker-0: Not once.

speaker-1: Not once. We haven't even talked about it except for when we were told we can't use it.

speaker-0: Have you talked about like the really bad stuff that AI can do and like falling in love with it and how people make these horrible images? Any of that?

speaker-1: No, not not through school.

speaker-0: And where are you getting this if you're not getting it through school?

speaker-1: I'm getting it through my social circle. We talk about we talk about this 'cause we're worried about it, but the school won't teach us about it.

speaker-0: Okay, so you're talking about it in your social circles, but you don't have like an adult in the mixture like me. Do you think it's good to have an adult in the mixture like me talking to you about it and listening to your your voices?

speaker-1: I think it's really good to have a mixture of perspectives. Yeah. I think it would be better with that.

speaker-0: I really try hard to always be non-judgmental. Also, if I had a student here who was telling me they really liked it, I would really pull it together. However, I have to say it's very difficult on some topics to remain non-judgmental as an adult. And it's really Important to practice this nonstop and just to slow it down and listen to what you guys are living through and what it's done to your age group. Yeah.

speaker-1: I think older generations don't give us enough credit for how much we were not addicted to our phones. It's it's a big stereotype.

speaker-0: Because you want to get away from them. I'm seeing that as well. Yeah. So, you know, to the person who asked this question, I just I want I want you to know that you don't have to use AI and I know it's hard not to use AI. And I do think you should understand how it works and you should follow the news and you should be informed about it. I think it's wrong to not be informed. However, if you do not want to use AI at all for your schoolwork, I think it's great. Because it means that you're learning critical thinking yourself. And if any teacher happens to be listening to this, I think this is such a rich classroom conversation to have, like in a homeroom or an advisory class, Because I think that we need to see each other and what we're struggling with. And also we need to just name, hey, there are a lot of kids out there who don't want to use this. We shouldn't be pushing it down their throats. Thank you for having this conversation with me. Did you enjoy this?

speaker-1: Yeah, I think it was really interesting.

speaker-0: I'm glad. If you have a question, something you think about at midnight, something you'd never say in class, send it to askdearteen at gmail.com. No names, no judgment. I'm Allison. This is Dear Teen. Thanks for being here.