Marcelle, Moon, Sabrina and Saman
Marcelle:
Hello everyone, my name is Marcelle. I am a year one coming year two social work student from the faculty of arts and social science and I come from the Dominican Republic.
Sabrina:
I'm Sabrina, and I'm studying public relation and I'm year two student and I'm from Myanmar. Hello everyone.
Moon:
I'm Moon. I'm year two student is studying biotechnology. I'm from the country of mountains, Nepal.
Saman:
I'm Saman, I'm studying visual arts at BU and I am going to year two as well, coming from Arabia Pakistan.
Marcelle:
Yay! And welcome to the student chit chat. We are now unmuted. Today's topic, we are gonna open this podcast, talking about AI, artificial intelligence, and all of its implications nowadays in our education, in teachers, with students, with everything that comes to your guys’ mind. So, why does AI matter? Specifically generative AI? Like, why does it matter?
Saman:
Oh, my God, AI does not matter as much as we think it does, because personally, there's too much misleading information, there's too much fake stuff, you really can't trust it. AI cannot do as much as we keep saying that it can or it cannot help us as much as we think.
Sabrina:
It is very interesting point of view. I think AI is a game changer.
Saman:
Really?
Sabrina:
It is like where there are so many AI using in workplace and also in education. And also, regarding the misleading information, it's about how you use the AI. If you know how to use it correctly, like giving the correct prompt, you'll be able to find which kind of which information you're gonna use or not.
Marcelle:
I agree that if you know how to use AI, it can make a difference, definitely. It makes your learning more individualized because you can manage and modify all of the materials in a way that makes sense to you in your particular learning style, which is great. But sometimes I just feel like it's so automated that it takes the soul out of whatever I'm studying because it feels like copy paste and copy pasting. and I really, really don't like it. When I use AI for my essays for my things, I do feel like it makes it more automated, but I know it's different for everybody, so for you.
Sabrina:
For me, it's kind of like individual. It's more individual, because like, I use AI for explaining very difficult concept into a simple language that I can understand, like that for better to understand me. And also some sometimes I use my notes and put it in an AI and then ask them to create an MCQ question, for example, and it was really helpful.
Moon:
But I think the AI is a plan of both individualized and automatic form, because when I personally use AI in my study, whether writing essays or doing research and stuff, I have a degree of that I want the AI that helped me to do my things better. But for that, I want the AI characters the main automatic that's a character of AI that I smart automatically, they think and if they weren't gonna do that, then why I'm gonna ask AI? So I want the individualized and smart automatic form of AI, and I personally feel that's the best.
Marcelle:
Sounds interesting, and I guess because you're studying science it's like the most stereotypically speaking, like the whole AI field. So do you think that all of your professors have been, like, embracing AI? have they adapted, or do you find like your professors actually don't really like it?
Moon:
In science, I think not one because I'm from the biology department. I know about that, but I think computer science might have a different perspective on it. Yeah, but for my case, we use it for like, observational or experimental learning, that's the AI use for, but I think it's different for the creative arts things. like, you can say, like, I don't know how it is he adopted by professor in critic arts. What do you think, Sabrina?
Sabrina:
For me, in my communication department, the professors are quite open about it about using AI, but then, as long as we are not copy pasting everything like as I said earlier, it's fine. And what's really nice is they even try to like, teach us how to use AI ethically.
Moon:
Okay, yes, that sounds good.
Marcelle:
That's interesting. It's good, because I do feel in my department as well, my professors have been in class, not really using AI as much, but our head of department is doing research on how to implement AI in our learning and teaching. I am participating in their research which I'm really excited for. And I do find that in my GEs, my professors are also embracing AI a lot for making the PowerPoints, making memes or trying to make the class more engaging. And they can use it. they know how to like approach, especially the young professors. The younger ones but how specifically are they using it? Like, why? how are they embracing it?
Saman:
Yeah, like, so for most of the professors, for me, there's a minority that's using it I think, but for those who are using it, they're doing a great job. Like, they're not using it as much as I think you guys’ professors are, but they're using it really effectively, even though minimally. So, I'm pretty happy with how the professors are doing.
Sabrina:
For my professor, yeah, they do use, but it depends on what she mentioned earlier. It's like the younger professor, they are more open to it in the creative industry, especially. But the older ones they are a bit reluctant especially like when they come from like journalism background kind of old fashioned makes sense.
Saman:
Like the your original work.
Moon:
Makes sense, yeah. Yeah.
Sabrina:
So what about in science view? How your professor adapt into AI?
Moon:
What I see, especially in BU, I would say BU because I'm proudly student of BU. I would say professor, they are more focusing. I found more focusing on detecting AI than rather guiding us to use AI. You know, they know their students’ gonna use AI. Oh, you have all these students like, they have like, oh, 50%, 50%, then you will get zero marks and 15%, like 15%. If you use that, then you'll get the zero, because I have one experience, also my friend, one of the friend use AI and everything and the professor got detection somewhere around 15.
Saman:
That's crazy Okay, I'm thinking what my professors are thinking we're kind of thinking the same thing, but it's like AI is an insult to our work. We don't want it, we're artists, we want originality, we want something unique. We don't want this computer barging into whatever we're trying to make. We're trying to be original. So my professors, they're looking for yes, use AI for info, but don't use AI for output.
Marcelle:
Okay, you are so sure of yourself.
Saman:
I am, I don't yeah,
Marcelle:
I'm in one of my GE, it was a history GE, so it kind of makes sense. It's also a more archaic looking field, whatever. Like we had to like, do some readings and take a test from those readings. and my professor during the example of telling us, okay, you can have the readings open in your computers. But if you use AI to like to get the answers to write the essays, then that's cheating. like that's and this cheating and it's lazy because you didn't do your reading and you're not participating in the class. Do you consider like, your professors are taking it the same way?
Sabrina:
Yeah. Some of the professors do say like, oh student might get lazy or they might do the shortcuts so that they all use their own critical thinking and stuff. But then I think it really depends on the students or stuff, and also the professor as well. As I mentioned earlier, it was like, the AI will give you whatever you ask for it, but then it is your responsibility to use AI ethically. And also at the same time, you need to fact check it. For example, whenever we use AI to look for the reference or stuff. Sometime AI is really good at acting as an expert and they give up the all the references. Sometimes it's not true. It's your responsibility to check it and whether you or not whether you're gonna use it or not.
Marcelle:
What about Moon?
Moon:
The AI but I want to say something about the mentioned that the student use of AI sounds to be lazy or you may say cheating or dumber student I call. The professor saying student we use AI are dumber but I think to prompt something or to order the AI what you want, it need a level of skills or expertise on that thing. What do you think like, to make a proper prompt for it? To make AI to do your thing, you need to export knowledge on that.
Saman:
Yeah, that's really true.
Moon:
So I want my professor to guide me to increase my depth level of expertise.
Saman:
Yeah. Definitely. I agree with that. I think our professors want that. Use AI, go ahead with it, new tech, exciting stuff. but be careful how you're using it.
Moon:
That's the problem of students. like they don't know how to use AI. The problem is not known like how to use AI, that's the problem. It's not about using AI wrong way or right way. It's like basically people don't know how to talk they don't have.
Marcelle:
And BU has made some effort with that, because I know my boyfriends in the business faculty and they have an entire class that everyone's required to take about AI business, like they are having that knowledge. They need to take it to us as well.
Moon:
I think for the they have like different department has different rules on that. yeah, let's see how individualized they think they restricted it like,
Saman:
but there's like so much illiteracy around AI, right? I think if we knew about it more, maybe I wouldn't be feeling like.
Sabrina:
I saw in communication to the department; you're even doing the workshop. not only student leading workshop and they are like help integrating AI into help the foreign workers.
Marcelle:
That's related to social… That so cool.
Saman:
Oh my, I want that. Why don't we? That's really cool.
Marcelle:
In my case, like, I think my department is doing a lot of effort and a lot of air related fun stuff and research in the academic field, but when it comes to actually putting it in class, because we're such like a care forward profession, the AI doesn't really, like, help a lot., so inhumane. We don't really have AI in the classroom as much. I've seen AI. like, all my experiences with AI in the classroom has been either in my GEs or in English. yeah, English literature. Oh my God, that review.
Moon:
I think everyone just survive of literary review.
Marcelle:
But yeah, like, I've been able to get the experience with AI in those other courses, but the knowledge, I do think it's lacking. I think because they know that we're younger people, they do take us to be more technology forward and to know more about technology using it. We are, but we're also not.
Moon:
I feel somewhere is feeling also afraid to use AI or they are not fully known about AI, you know?
Sabrina:
That's a thing. because they don't know it, So they are reluctant, they don't want to use it. Oh, whether it will give the misleading outcome or some, so if they don't want to oh, I can do it manually. And then I think it wastes a lot of time.
Marcelle:
Is there anything that you'd wish the students specifically knew about using AI ethically?
Saman:
Yeah, yeah, I wish my classmates would know about in terms of using AI ethically that you can use it to learn about stuff and make stuff as long as you're sure that your information is coming from the right places, but do you really want the originality of your paintings and your artwork to reflect this technological seeping, you know, effect into your pure artwork? Like, do you really want that?
Sabrina:
In communication, I would say that, if you want professor to embrace that AI, it's your responsibility to use AI ethically as well, If you are like copy pasting everything and show it to it, you are like more reluctant. Oh, no, don't use it. Yeah, they know, so you need to build a trust.
Moon:
It's just a refine-your-work, not just copying or your originality shouldn't be disappeared. It's like even though we have bus and train, we should know how to walk. Yeah, it's like that.
Marcelle:
With my classmates. Honestly, I don't think they are too obsessed with AI, but AI will never be able to replicate the full capabilities of the one person. Use it as an extra arm. Yeah, if you're gonna use it as aid to do your own capabilities. don't try to replace everything that you are. Exactly. Yes. So, I think that's a good ending point, I think. Yeah. This was a really interesting conversation I was not expecting it to be.
Saman:
Me too, very enlightening.
Marcelle:
I'm very proud of that as well. And this is the first episode of the student chithatter. We're hoping that you show a lot of interest to all the topics that we discussed today and that we can continue this in the future and talk more fun things, looking forward. and just have BU be more colourful and listen to the students more. So, you guys now we were unmuted. We go back to be muted. Bye.
If there was one sentence that you could tell your professors about how students are using AI, what would you tell them?
Saman:
Less is more, but you're doing a great job.
Sabrina:
Take control of AI or you will be left behind.
Marcelle:
Human work deserves human feedback, please.
Moon:
It would be like AI is not our teacher, it is our teacher's assistant.