Not long ago, artificial intelligence seemed like a far-off dream, but things have changed rapidly. Students say it has become an integral resource in theiracademic lives.
While AI has long existed in scientific spheres, from NASA rovers to Siri, its rise in usage among students began through advancements in generative AI — a constantly learning machine trained to generate new data by its users.
A KPMG survey shows that among students over the age of 18, over 52 per cent have used generative AI platforms — like ChatGPT — as an aid in their schoolwork. Almost 90 per cent of those students said they saw an improvement in the quality of their work, and 70 per cent said they witnessed growth in their grades.
“I kind of use it to explain things,” said Quinn Sawchuk, a second-year psychology student. “If there’s a really tough concept that I’m really not understanding, I’ll type in the prompt and say, ‘Explain this to a third grader.’”
For students, the most common applications of AI include finding academic sources, clarifying coding and math problems, writing emails and answering general homework questions.
Sawchuk said they felt AI was more of a second teacher — a fine resource to help, rather than a machine to use specifically for completing tasks.
“Maybe if I’m writing an essay, I’ll take bits and pieces of arguments and piece them together with stuff I’m writing, to make sure it sounds like me,” they said.
Sawchuk said they’ve been using AI for more than just school recently, including for job applications since some employers use AI to go through resumes.
Despite its widespread use and benefits, students have raised concerns with AI. The KPMG survey revealed 60 per cent of respondents view AI use as equivalent to cheating.
According to Western University’s 2023-24 report on scholastic offences, the school reported 426 student offences between July 2023 and June 2024 — twelve related to inappropriate AI usage.
“I feel like I was also kind of scared of it when it first came out,” said Kate Hamers, a second-year anthropology and classical studies student. “But I was honestly more scared of getting caught using it.”
Hamers said she doesn’t typically use generative AI tools when it comes to schoolwork.
“The only times I ever use it is to simplify certain parts of academic readings,” she said.
Carly Charron, a PhD student in the bioloogy department, said the absence of AI when she was completing her undergraduate degree helped her develop independent original thinking skills.
“Something from my undergrad that has really helped me be successful in graduate studies is being very organized and good at managing my time,” Sharon said. “It would be very easy to fall behind, but for me, that’s something that I feel I strongly developed in undergrad, and that’s really helped me thrive throughout my graduate degree.”
Though she doesn’t use generative AI in her current studies, Sharon explained that it has helped her with personal tasks like messages for cards.
“I think it can be a very useful tool for improving your writing, and I know my supervisor has used it to help her find articles related to our field,” she said. “So I think it definitely has its place.”