Artificial intelligence has quietly become part of student life. It helps organize schedules, explain confusing concepts, and manage overwhelming workloads. At the same time, it raises a difficult question: if AI is thinking with us, what happens to our own thinking?
Most conversations about AI in education get stuck on arguing about whether it is good or bad. But that framing misses the point. The real issue is that AI is already embedded in how students learn, and pretending we can simply opt out is no longer realistic.
The benefits of AI are easy to see. Many students use it to break down large assignments, clarify material after class, or study in ways that better fit their learning styles.
Julia Ma ‘26 said, “It is a lot more convenient to use AI for extracting information quickly.”
Used thoughtfully, AI doesn’t replace learning—it supports it. Instead of spending hours stuck on one step, students can move forward and engage more deeply with ideas. For students balancing heavy workloads, this support can feel essential rather than optional.
Still, the concerns about AI are valid. Overreliance can weaken independent thinking. When students turn to AI too quickly, they may skip the productive struggle that leads to real understanding.
Writing is especially vulnerable. AI often produces work that sounds polished but generic. If students accept those responses without questioning them, they risk losing their individual voice and the ability to sit with uncertainty. Learning becomes faster, but flatter.
What complicates this debate is that AI use doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in comparison to others. This creates a situation similar to a prisoner’s dilemma: A student might choose not to use AI in order to protect originality, but if peers are using AI ethically to work more efficiently, that student may fall behind.
Over time, avoiding AI can feel less like a principled choice and more like a disadvantage. Meanwhile, using AI too much risks dependence. No matter what students choose, there is a cost.
This tension shows why AI use cannot be treated as a purely personal decision. The system itself pushes students toward greater reliance on AI because schools reward efficiency, output, and polish.
In that context, asking whether students should use AI is the wrong question. The more important question is how students can maintain intellectual agency in a world where AI assistance is normal.
Preparing for this future means learning how to use AI with intention. That includes knowing when to ask for help and when to struggle, when to accept suggestions and when to reject them. Imagine a classroom where AI is allowed but not invisible—where students reflect on how they used it and explain their thinking. In that space, AI becomes a tool rather than a shortcut.
AI is neither the end of learning nor a harmless convenience. It reshapes how students think, compete, and define effort. We cannot undo its presence, but we can choose how we respond to it. The future of education belongs not to those who reject AI completely or rely on it blindly, but to those who learn how to think with it— without letting it think for them.
Sam GIilman • Feb 19, 2026 at 12:00 pm
I see more and more of my classmates using AI at an alarming rate, and it is difficult to navigate teaching in AI because how can you prepare for something in February that may change completely in August? AI is changing constantly. I don’t know how teachers or students are going to prepare, but I do know it is becoming easier and easier to use and generate A+ essays in seconds so I believe that teachers, instead of trying to cut it off entirely and sweep something that is going to change teaching forever, should teach students how to use it correctly.
Divya • Feb 18, 2026 at 8:28 am
I completely agree with you! I think it has become quite scary that kids are more willing to turn in their assignments using artificial intelligence that is not reliable all the time, instead of using their own, personal thoughts. Even if their are consequences to those who are not following the schools AI policy, it wont put a full stop on the issue because children nowadays genuinely dont care at all. I think that more assignments are turned in with the help of Chatgpt because their is a much more intense sense of laziness than actual effort, especially for essay writing.
Makayla Littles • Feb 2, 2026 at 10:57 pm
The author writes, “The future of education belongs not to those who reject AI completely or rely on it blindly, but to those who learn how to think with it— without letting it think for them.” The quote was specifically powerful for me because I often see my peers using AI as a tool to think for them. They do not try to stimulate their brains anymore. I have seen many people directly input questions into AI without even trying. I’m sure these students don’t even know what they are capable of without AI because of the heavy dependency. Truthfully, I think this heavy usage of AI comes from the overwhelming assignments and the lack of care when it comes to learning. It is sad that students have used AI as a resort to cheat themselves and cheat the system. I agree with this article that we need to learn how to use AI as a tool. I use AI to double check my work, or teach me how to do a mathematical problem that I have struggled with for a little too long. I am intentional with my usage of AI. If people continue to take advantage of AI, there will be major consequences to the level of intelligence that students hold.