How AI is affecting the creativity of students in English classes
As technology development accelerates, AI became a thread to many career, including teachers in the English department.
May 25, 2023
As technology development accelerates, Artificial Intelligence (AI) takes over jobs and acts as substitutes for human force. Not only can artificial intelligence do tasks that were originally done by humans, they can also take over things that require creativity. How
“I think that’s ironic, because the new technology is actually making many of us, the English teachers, have to go back many years in terms of binder paper, pen or pencil, and the book. Chatgpt just automatically generates an answer and it’s indetectable on turnitin.com. So for me to really know what students can do with their writing, I have to take away all the technology,” said AV English teacher Sara Marek.
Even though AI can not a hundred percent take over creative writing tasks, the advanced platforms ultimately weaken the student’s ability in producing original work.
“I think AI is used as a shortcut and undermines students’ creativity and weakens creative writing skills. The reason we practice writing in school is to develop thoughts and the ability to think for ourselves. Since it recycles existing work, it reduces unique ideas and students won’t be able to produce quality work when they need to work independently or think for themselves,” said Sophia Chua (‘24).
While new policies help restrict students from using AIs in writing, the increased amount of in-class assignments gives students an disadvantage.
“I haven’t used ChatGPT, but since we have to write everything by hand, I have less time to plan & develop my thoughts. I also have to put more effort on preparing because we don’t know the essay topic prior,” said Chua.
AI nowadays outpaces traditional systems and leaves teachers with uncertainty about the future.
“I don’t think we have a perfect solution yet, it has been an ongoing conversation in the English department and I think it will also be an ongoing conversation school-wide. It is important to let students understand that while we have these internet resources which can be really helpful, there is no substitute for their own creative and critical thinking,” said AV English Teacher Amy Suto.
