Submission by Mark Lovesey
AI Tools as a Distraction
AI tools can sometimes have adverse effects when students attempt to use them as a learning aid. For example, these tools can become a distraction from students’ own thinking rather than providing a solution to their problems. The image provided demonstrates the use of ChatGPT as a distraction in my learning environment. I believe that while ChatGPT and other AI tools can aid with many facets of academic work, such as studying, brainstorming, and data cleaning, it can equally be a distraction from students’ using their own minds to solve problems.
Place and my use of AI Tools
I learn best within quiet and well-lit environments that permit me to focus entirely on the task at hand. For the most part, I only use AI based tools as a means of sorting through data or as a means of generating questions to aid with studying. The image below is my ideal learning environment: quiet, well-lit, and without distractions. I find that my environment is key to studying and coupling that with general review and supplemental AI tools to concentrate my notes has provided me with good results
AI as a Second Mind
I use generative AI tools, in particular, ChatGPT as a means of collecting my notes into a more comprehensive document that removes any unnecessary information. I also sometimes use generative AI tools as a means of brainstorming a variety of different writing topics if I am experiencing some form of writer’s block. The image aims to describe generative AI as a second brain. While it is far less intelligent, creative, and original than a student’s mind, it can provide different perspectives on ideas that may have otherwise been overlooked.