JANUARY 8 — This write-up is inspired by my experience as a lecturer, teaching English courses to a diverse group of students at a Malaysian polytechnic for about 21 years. I’ve witnessed a significant transformation over the past two decades in students’ approaches to learning with the endless touch of technology in education. From chalk and talk to later technology-driven classrooms, visibly, countless features have been gradually impacting students’ performance, especially at tertiary levels.

In English language lessons, the use of hardbound-heavy-printed dictionaries to look for meanings of words has progressively been substituted (not complemented) by electronic forms for a quick yet accurate identification of word meanings and their use in context. This is welcomed as digitally aided lessons become more effective and efficient as they save time and impose less burden on students and teachers.

Well, this isn’t the point. The point here is that those were the days when students could be seen putting their heart and soul into tasks provided by the teacher, scouring for mental lexicons to prepare a simple script for role-play delivery in class, or when they were asked to make a brief write-up on a topic. Yes, more time was needed then, yet they managed to showcase an amazing outcome! Kudos to their effort as they ultimately created the product of their brain!

Paradoxically, these days, classroom participation tasks or other forms of evaluation like presentations, assignments, and role-play have become increasingly easy and stress-free for students. They can complete them in no time using a revolutionised human intelligence simulation machine, ChatGPT. I believe, most educators are encountering this major transition. Now, does this impact students positively or the other way around? On the one hand, it is a blessing as it benefits not only the students but minimises even the teacher’s task of correcting the students’ script but on the other side of the coin, are the students truly cognitively engaged or are they outsourcing it to Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools? This reflects how technology, when misused, can adversely impact learning.

Undoubtedly, the use of AI in education has shed light on many, whether students, teachers, curriculum developers, and other stakeholders. Alas, heavy reliance on AI tools, such as ChatGPT has gradually become a curse that diminishes student-created content. I could trace 100 per cent AI-generated content in my students’ assignments! Some could even humanise the text using other alternative tools to avoid getting caught. Now, where is the human essence in such work? How could they claim it as their own? What is the value of it? Many fail to understand that AI is a support, not a substitute to human thought.

Heavy dependency on AI platforms is nothing new in recent days. This could mean that a lack of cognitive skills is utilised in performing classroom activities or other evaluation tasks. Isn’t that so? Well, but not entirely, either. Students are becoming adept at prompting ChatGPT to fulfil the tasks provided by their teachers. Isn’t prompting the AI to generate desired outcomes also essential and part of cognitive processing? If they could squeeze the brain to think of the most accurate prompts to produce the best output, they could also manage to answer the tasks given on their own! This looks like the time spent figuring out how to solve a task outweighs the time spent solving it.

Occasionally, it is worth asking our students, ‘When did you last voice your own opinion?’, ‘When was the last time you wrote a caption yourself for Facebook or Instagram posts? or When did you even write a paragraph without relying on AI tools?” What do you think the responses would be? The answers might not surprise us.

The presence of AI tools has simplified our lives in this digitally revolutionised era. A clear fact that should never be forgotten is that a resource just remains that – a resource. It can facilitate but it cannot replace the ingenuity of human thought. They can be used as resources for vocabulary and grammar learning or checking language accuracy. They are perfect tools for brainstorming ideas and key points for writing and presentation, drafting data interpretation in research, and suggesting content for module writing. What is more, they work as great sources of information that answer most questions to enhance someone’s knowledge and understanding of a subject matter. Of all these significant uses, students seem to be using it as a tool to complete 100 per cent of the homework or evaluation tasks.

Remember that the role of AI must remain that of an aid, not a crutch. Its over-reliance poses challenges to students’ creativity and critical thinking. Exposing students to the values of human thinking and teaching them to be more ethical in using AI-based platforms is easier said than done. Educators play a crucial role in informing students of the power of integrating AI ethically in their learning journey to enhance their creativity and judgement instead of misusing it as an ultimate replacement for their authentic thinking. Are we ready to take up the challenges?

* The author is a Senior Lecturer at the English Language Unit, General Studies Department, Politeknik Sultan Idris Shah.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.