AI abuse makes students lazy to think

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - In the era of rapid technological development, artificial intelligence (AI) has penetrated into every learning and research activity of students. AI brings many benefits: helping to quickly search for documents, suggest ideas, even compose documents or solve complex exercises. However, that convenience is also becoming a "double-edged sword", making a part of students gradually lazy to think, reducing their ability to self-study and self-research, while these are core skills in the university environment.

Students of the Academy of Journalism and Communication are trained in the use of AI technology.

Nguyen Thu Ha, a fourth-year student at the Academy of Journalism and Communication, shared: “At first, I only used AI to refer to the outline. But after a few times, I realized that any assignment can be done by AI. It only takes about 15 minutes to edit and submit. This makes me use AI more and less often to study study materials.”

This habit not only occurs in social sciences but also in natural sciences. Some students majoring in information technology and engineering, when encountering difficult programming exercises, easily copy source code from AI, instead of experimenting and practicing problem-solving skills. Even professions that require creativity and personal identity such as music making, painting, and graphic design can apply AI. Nguyen Gia Minh, a student at the University of Industrial Fine Arts, said: "Normally, I may have to spend hours coming up with ideas, sketching, and color matching to create a poster product, but when I tried using AI, just a few commands drew me many different poster products, and all of them looked very beautiful and professional."

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a familiar tool for students in most fields of study. From essay writing, translation, programming to graphic design and music , AI can produce products quickly and attractively. However, this convenience also brings with it many worrying consequences as students become increasingly dependent. The first consequence is a decline in independent thinking ability. Instead of researching, analyzing and writing their own opinions, many students only reuse results from AI. This causes critical thinking and creativity skills, which are considered core in the university environment, to be stunted. Second, the risk of plagiarism and falsification is increasing. AI tools often synthesize information from many sources on the internet, leading to students accidentally copying without citing. If this situation continues, the quality of research and academic ethics may be eroded. The consequences do not stop at the learning aspect, but also extend to professional practice skills.

"In the past, I used AI quite a lot in writing scripts and building communication plans. Seeing the convenience of AI, I use AI more and more, but because of that, I feel that I depend on AI a lot. Now I have to spend a lot of time creating my own communication scripts. Even when I have no ideas, I feel like I'm "addicted" to AI, just wanting to find AI to help me handle my work," said Nguyen Tuan Khai, a multimedia communication student at Hong Duc University.

Faced with this situation, many universities have begun to adjust their teaching and testing methods. Instead of just requiring essays, some lecturers require students to present and defend their views in front of the class. This method forces students to clearly understand the content, avoiding mechanical copying. For training majors that require AI applications in the teaching and learning process, lecturers always emphasize students' mastery of new technologies. In particular, "mastering AI" means that students must have a firm grasp of basic knowledge, use AI as a reference support tool, and then develop further with their own independent and creative thinking. AI only truly demonstrates its value when learners know how to master it, instead of letting themselves be led and dependent.

At Hong Duc University, multimedia communication is one of the fields that needs to constantly update trends and apply new technology, so the application of AI in the teaching and learning process is an inevitable trend. "The school always promotes creative thinking, the ability to use digital tools, analyze data and build a professional personal image of each student. In particular, the school focuses on emphasizing that students must develop comprehensively and master technology to confidently adapt and assert themselves in the field of digital communication", Associate Professor, Dr. Dau Ba Thin, Vice Principal of Hong Duc University, said.

It is undeniable that AI is a great achievement of mankind, and students are young people who are quick to adapt to technology, so this will certainly be the group of people who use AI the most. The problem is not "to ban or not to ban", but how to use it correctly. The most important principle is to use AI for reference, not to copy verbatim. Students can exploit AI to suggest and synthesize documents, but then must verify and develop them with their own thinking. "No matter to what extent they use AI technology, in the end they are the ones who are responsible for their final product. Therefore, verifying sources of information and developing personal thinking is very important," Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Thi Thu Hang, Director of the Institute of Journalism and Communication, Academy of Journalism and Communication, shared. In addition, learners should know how to ask critical questions to AI, compare information with official academic sources, and combine it with traditional learning methods such as document research and group discussions. Only in this way can AI truly become a tool to support the learning process, while the value of independent thinking is still maintained.

Article and photos: Phuong Do

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/lam-dung-ai-nbsp-khien-sinh-vien-luoi-tu-duy-258973.htm