Artificial intelligence isn’t the future, it’s the present—and M-A is falling behind. A.I., just like the calculator and the internet, is not a cheating device but a tool that can revolutionize learning. M-A’s stated goal is to help students become prepared, independent, and socially responsible individuals. However, to do this, M-A must teach students how to use A.I. as a tool because understanding its proper use can help limit academic dishonesty while maximizing its benefits as a learning device.
Currently, the District Academic Integrity Policy is the only District document mentioning A.I. use. The policy states that “using A.I. to create, write, or otherwise generate answers for an assignment without teacher authorization” is a form of academic misconduct and plagiarism.
While it’s important to draw the line, such a short, ambiguous statement leaves a lot up for interpretation. The policy statement should guide teachers on when or how often they should allow it.
The U.S. Department of Education states in their Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning: Insights and Recommendations policy report, “We envision a technology-enhanced future more like an electric bike and less like robot vacuums. On an electric bike, the human is fully aware and fully in control, but their burden is less, and their effort is multiplied by a complementary technological enhancement.”
Our district should adopt a similar vision as the DOE, recognizing the serious advantages of A.I. and encouraging teachers to find places where it’s appropriate—something other California school districts are already doing.
The Los Angeles Unified School District has already made the leap to implementing A.I. into their teaching. LAUSD policy says, “Generative A.I. can support personalized learning, enhance student achievement and engagement, increase access to information, and develop technological literacy.” The district adopted the DOE’s framework—provided in their policy report—as their guidelines for A.I. use.
In our district, teachers decide if A.I. is permitted in their classrooms. This could lead to some banning it entirely due to a lack of awareness about its potential benefits. “Teachers decide if and when using A.I. for academic work is appropriate on an assignment-by-assignment basis. We have implemented a chart for teachers to use to indicate which level of A.I. use is acceptable for any given assignment,” District Instructional Technology Specialist Barbara Reklis said.
While certain assignments must be done without A.I. assistance, teachers need to be informed about A.I.’s advantages and encouraged to allow A.I. usage when appropriate, instead of removing it as a resource altogether.
“I’ve never done a whole assignment with A.I. I’ll ask it for help, but it’s always my own ideas,” an anonymous student said. The student expressed uncertainty about what “help” is allowed and what isn’t. “I don’t think I’m cheating. Nobody ever taught me how to use A.I. properly. I think that would be really helpful,” the student continued.
Students know A.I. exists, but by offering professional guidance on appropriate A.I. use before a student relies on what their friend says, we can prevent reliance on misinformation from peers while encouraging responsibility with technology usage. The way that some generative A.I. is set up makes it easy to directly ask for an answer. However, we should teach students how to create prompts that help them do the work and answer their questions as effectively as possible. A.I. tends to be really good at consolidating sources, creating a framework, checking grammar and punctuation, and explaining a complicated topic in easy words. However, you should never use A.I. to find quotes, write summaries, write first drafts, or provide data because that’s when it tends to hallucinate.
Whether students use A.I., Google, or a friend’s work, dishonest behavior won’t go away. “Cheaters are going to cheat,” Stuart said. “Imagine if we said nobody can use the internet and we’re not going to be able to send any emails because we might cheat. We have to find ways to embrace the next steps of technology, even if we don’t like the direction that it’s going.”
As students enter the workforce, they will have the freedom to use A.I. no matter their profession, and the reality is that A.I. will be available to answer any question they ask. It’s difficult to imagine a future that is so dramatically different from the past, but even now, tasks that might typically take days or weeks—searching for loopholes in a contract, analyzing data, transcribing meetings, and more—can take just a few seconds. “Learning the art of effective prompting is a skill that will serve our students well in future careers,” Recklis said.
A.I. is already shaping the future of every industry—are we going to prepare students with clear rules on A.I. use, or let them fall behind?
