WOODBURY — The use of artificial intelligence is becoming more and more accepted as a guiding tool to help with work and studies. AI is proving beneficial for assisting with projects and giving many a helping hand when they are stuck or don’t know where to start. But with the increase in overall use of AI, the number of cases of misuse has also increased.

At Nonnewaug, there is a ban on using AI for cheating on classwork and other assignments, however many still continue to use sites such as ChatGPT despite these restrictions.

“I see kids using AI all the time,” says freshman Lexi Binette. “I see them getting in trouble for cheating with it all the time, too.” 

“I’ve had many students use AI for assignments,” says English teacher Rebecca Gambardella. “I think many students don’t realize it’s cheating when it actually is.”

Gambardella said that the way she handles AI plagiarism depends on the situation.

“If it’s the first time a freshman has used AI for an assignment, I typically give them the option to rewrite because freshman might not understand plagiarism and cheating yet and how AI is a part of that,” Gambardella said, “but if it is a recurring problem with the student or they are older, they should know better.” 

Although AI may seem like a culprit in the school setting, it does have many positive qualities if it is used for what it is permitted to be used as. 

“I will use AI for a bulleted list of ideas to help me start a project, but I don’t get why some people cheat with it,” says Binette. “I use it as a tool like what it’s meant for.” 

Gambardella says AI has a place in society and even potentially in school, but it isn’t appropriate for most school assignments because teachers need to be able to see students’ skills.

“It comes down to audience, purpose, and task,” Gambardella says. “I use AI for things that are mundane or take up my time.” 

Gambardella references the recent Willy Wonka experience AI scandal where false advertising lead visitors to be disappointed and the drastic difference between how the event was advertised using AI and how the event actually looked. She says that AI is not mature enough yet to match the tone and qualities of a human to be applied in more serious areas of work.

“It’s like any tool,” Gambardella said. “I use it to write an email or if I’m looking for a word, but AI is still very cold. It’s not human. It doesn’t give off the same human qualities of real writing. So if I’m doing something important, I will never use AI.”