Students’ overdependence on AI chatbots is already a problem. Experts label the phenomenon metacognitive laziness, resulting from dumping assignments on chatbots instead of tackling the hard task of learning and critical thinking. The shortcut-taking leads to a subsequent inability to synthesize, analyze, and explain information, that is, critical thinking—one of the prized attributes that employers seek in human applicants.
In one laboratory study Chinese students were tasked with reading several texts, writing an essay, and then revising it—all in English, which was not their native language. Participants were broken into four groups. One group was allowed to use ChatGPT; the second had access to a human writing tutor; the third received a writing checklist with criteria to guide students’ revision; and the fourth group completed the assignment without any help whatsoever. All groups were subsequently tested to determine how much they had learned and how they felt about the exercise.
Subscribe to continue reading
Subscribe to get access to the rest of this post and other subscriber-only content.