It’s okay to have mixed feelings about using AI. HEY! student writer Zaneta Ng reflects on GenAI use in university and shares expert tips on how to approach it
by Zaneta Ng / Illustration by Vivian Lim
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has recently become the world’s favourite buzzword. After all, it’s accessible to everyone and saves time, allowing us to “work smart, not hard” – until doubt starts to seep in.
“I try to create original work. But sometimes I use ChatGPT because it generates ideas quickly. I can pick the good ideas and work on them further,” says psychology student Angela Chua. “I understand that some courses allow AI usage, but I try not to use ChatGPT for assignments, as I still enjoy writing.”
Like Angela and some of my NTU peers, I’ve found that using AI in our work can sometimes conflict with how we see ourselves. We believe that, as good students, we should be fully engaged with and deeply understand our subjects. When we use GenAI, our work – and by extension, who we are as individuals – can feel inauthentic and uninteresting. It could even lead to a form of what has been termed “AI guilt”.
Given the relatively recent adoption of GenAI in university courses, it’s understandable to feel uncertain about using it, according to the experts I spoke to.
To navigate this confusion, we can start by recognising the difference between using GenAI as a tool and becoming overdependent on it.
“Your use of AI shouldn’t undermine your ability to think deeply and independently,” says Dr Ho Shen Yong, who is involved in driving pedagogical innovation in NTU. “AI tools should augment, rather than replace, human intelligence.”
“Are you using AI as a critical friend?” asks NTU’s Assoc Prof Damien Joseph, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education at the Nanyang Business School. “If you have taken the time to critically review your work and have made numerous changes to any raw input that you may have adapted – drawing on your competence in the subject – your professors can recognise that.”
“Also, bear in mind that the extent to which you can use GenAI, if at all, depends on the nature of the course and its learning objectives,” adds Assoc Prof Joseph. “If you are unsure, always check with the instructor regarding the AI policy for your specific course.”
When feeling unsure about AI use, ask yourself…
Do I understand the boundaries of GenAI use in this course, and have I overstepped them? If I have used AI appropriately and handed in my declaration of AI use, my academic integrity remains intact, and I shouldn’t feel this way.
Do I have a good understanding of the topic and the competence to recognise GenAI’s helpful points, fix its errors and improve on its mediocre outputs?
Assoc Prof Damien Joseph, Nanyang Business School
Am I using AI as a tool to enhance my efforts, or am I outsourcing my effort to AI?
Do I take full responsibility for the work that I have created with the help of AI?
Mr Ian Tan, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information
Is there a chance that the GenAI response is reinforcing my biases by agreeing with my past inputs? How can I, or the AI, further play devil’s advocate to discover new ideas or perspectives that challenge my current understanding of the topic’s problems and solutions?
Asst Prof Tanmay Sinha, National Institute of Education
INCREASE YOUR AI LITERACY
Be sure of NTU’s AI use guidelines: Search “Generative Artificial Intelligence guidelines” on the student intranet.
Learn about GenAI tools and get tips from the Institute for Pedagogical Innovation, Research & Excellence.
Visit @InsPIRE_NTU on Instagram and Telegram.
HEY! STUDENT WRITER
Zaneta enjoys watching action and thriller movies. If she feels down, eating dark chocolate never fails to cheer her up.
This story was published in the Sep-Oct 2024 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.
