How Students Feel About AI — and Where I Stand on It.
When the term artificial intelligence is mentioned, many immediately imagine a dystopian universe in which robotic machinery has replaced human function, seizing our current norm with a new reality.
For many, the possibility of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) technologies replacing humanity has caused a rise in FOBO — the fear of becoming obsolete.
Figure 1 presents a quantitative analysis of qualitative student responses to the prompt: “One thing that makes me feel anxious about artificial intelligence is…” The responses are organized into five main themes. This visualization was created and analyzed using ChatGPT’s keyword search tool to determine the percentage associated with each category.
From the perspective of a nineteen-year-old, the emergence of AI technologies, specifically the current, updated ChatGPT models, places me in a headspace of concern and worry. With society advancing toward a state of human-AI integration and technological digitalization at fast rates, my anxieties surrounding what’s next heightens. The question no longer lies in “What can humanity achieve,” but in “How will these achievements impact humanity?”
There have been moments when I have experienced anxiety surrounding AI technologies. In these moments, I question society’s dependence on these tools, the impact the job market will face, and the odds of reaching a point where the lines between real and artificial are blurred.
AI’s growing ability to effectively interpret and mimic human language and the growing difficulty in deciphering what is real fuel my anxieties. While my AI anxieties do not drastically impact my everyday routine, they flood my mind with what-ifs on those nights when my thoughts are louder than my ability to drift off to sleep.
According to a 2023 Gallup report, 20% of college graduates faced FOBO about their careers — a noticeable 12 percentage jump compared to 2021. Current college students experience similar anxieties surrounding academic plagiarism and the risk of becoming complacent.
In Figure 2, respondents answered five questions about student anxiety (SA) surrounding schoolwork, advances in AI, laziness, critical thinking skills, and plagiarism. Using a 7-point Likert scale, ChatGPT categorized and color-coded responses to show where student attitudes lay on the scale and the frequency of each response. A numeric value of 1.0 represents strongly disagree, 4.0 signifies a neutral position, and 7.0 indicates strongly agree. SA3 and SA5 received the most strongly agreed responses.
With software such as Grammarly falsely flagging student work on Turnitin for plagiarism, combined with ChatGPT’s ability to generate text and answers instantly, college students are being directly impacted by this new wave of artificial intelligence.
Figure 3 illustrates the frequency of student responses on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree, regarding student use of AI (SU). The points of the star-shaped pattern indicate the number of responses to specific survey questions. While most respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that they had experience using generative AI, the majority tended to strongly and somewhat disagree with frequently using AI for schoolwork.
I provided ChatGPT 4o with an image of Figure 3 and asked it to take my design and create its own version. Without feedback to improve the chart’s clarity and legibility, ChatGPT generated this visualization.
Although ChatGPT cannot create some interactive charts, it excels at generating visualizations based on data, contributing to the job displacement and dependency concerns students face.
According to a 2023 Pew Research report, U.S. employees with a bachelor’s degree or higher were twice as likely to encounter AI in their jobs compared to those with only a high school diploma.
As a soon-to-be college graduate, I believe that the future of AI poses a threat to my career as a Communications and Media major.
With ChatGPT’s growing language processing and generative abilities, the system can generate creative content and visuals in seconds — a talent that would take humans triple the time to complete. Similarly, in a matter of seconds, ChatGPT can deliver misinformation that can be spread across the digital space, fabricating fake news, bias, and conflict through a click of a button. ChatGPT’s ability to replicate human voices and realistic deepfakes can easily be used for malicious reasons, jeopardizing one’s overall reputation and placing one’s mental being in shambles. These potential threats make me question the future of AI and what this means for our future.
“There are ways to respond to AI in the workplace: embrace it or fear it,” writes Dr. Diane Hamilton, author of What Is FOBO? How To Stay Relevant And Not Become Obsolete At Work.
In Figure 5, different blue tones differentiate student responses to the prompt: “One that make me feel anxious/empowered is…” The words and phrases in light blue represent responses to the empowerment prompt, while darker blue words represent responses to the anxiety question. Hovering over the words shows their frequency in student responses and indicates whether they relate to the empowerment or anxiety question.
As my graduation nears, I believe college should prepare students for the realities of a world with AI. The innovation of AI should not be ignored. AI is here to stay.
While AI usage is highly discouraged in classrooms, colleges should teach students about the possibilities of AI and the appropriate ways of integrating AI into their daily lives. For example, ChatGPT can serve as a solution tool to help resolve students’ confusion. It can also act as a study aid by formulating outlines and guides for students. It can even function as a writing and language coach to help improve students’ writing skills and language proficiency.
In Figure 6, the blue colors represent the disagreeability side, while the purple colors represent the agreeability side. The gray color differentiates the two, serving as a point of neutrality. The darker the color saturation, the stronger the agree and disagree responses.
As seen, student responses vary. For example, for SI1, majority of respondents (92) agreed with the statement; however, 72 strongly disagreed, indicating a sharp division in AI use in the academic sphere.
Through the dataset provided by Professor K, it is clear that students hold mixed opinions toward AI. As we have seen in the past and as we will continue to see, technological innovation comes with its pros and cons. Most survey questions have a neutral mean; however, a wide variability is evident between strongly disagree and agree responses. While some students perceive AI in the academic space as a way to save time and provide help in high regard, the concerns of academic dishonesty, dependence, and ethics are still of consideration.
Being released 3 years ago, the development of ChatGPT and current AI technologies are still relatively new. Consequently, high levels of uncertainty surround AI. We do not know where AI will take society and how it will impact humanity.
There is still significant tension surrounding student perspectives on AI in their academic and professional lives. Some believe AI should be used as a tool for assistance, while others argue against any use of AI. As a result, it’s understandable that the majority of opinions vary.
While I hold a more anxious perspective on AI and ChatGPT, I recognize that these technologies can significantly aid my growth as an individual, student, and future professional. AI creates opportunities that extend beyond the limits of human imagination. It can provide the motivation I need to transform my life or inspire an idea that could change my future forever.
The new technological era of AI is upon us. If used appropriately, these tools can allow us to see the world in ways we have never seen it before, fostering introspective thinking and driving our knowledge towards the betterment of society.
This is only the beginning of AI. Who knows, it might be the catalyst for something greater. Only the future will tell what AI has in store for humanity.
