What I say to an undergrad student about AI.

Students feel an extraordinary pressure to perform and to standout. Whether the driver is internal – a longing for acceptance among peers, an bent toward procrastination, or the desire to attend a prestigious university; or external – from parents, professors, or the pressures of an ultra-busy schedule, students turn to AI to generate, enhance, or humanize their submissions in Humanities classes. Here is what I send them to help them embrace the value of their own voices!

Dear Undergrad,

Thanks for responding to my request for your writing process and how AI might influence your papers. Sometimes, students say yes to AI revisions, but don’t realize the results actually keep them from becoming their best at writing.

Yes, the AI temptation has only been around for a few years. Thankfully, students are learning how to use AI wisely while still making their submissions their own work.

Two possible problems I note here:

1) Embedded in most composition tools is an AI editor that suggests changes. That means, you should use any program wisely (yes, Word has Copilot, Docs has Gemini, and everyone has some form of Grammarly.) And…

2) When these generative tools are active, your essay risks the revisions that raise its AI content exposure to TurnItIn (and worse, dilutes your own voice’s creativity and uniqueness). 

The result? If you say “yes” to the humanizer tool or bypass enhancers within your programs, your essay can become more AI than you. The more you accept changes, the less it is your own work.

Here are my suggestions to Humanities students who are learning to write at the academic level. Use AI for: 

·       Ideas, thesis direction, suggestions for sub-points and research ideas and sources. 

·       Then write your essay in your own words. Trust that you are a good student writer becoming better. 

When you revise, if you cannot figure out a subject-verb agreement issue or another grammar issue, then ask Grammarly or AI for help with that simple task.

Or if you want a different word, look it up and find a synonym (I write every day and I use the app Word Hippo for suggestions.) I do not run my work through AI for multiple suggestions. When you do this, you are changing your work to be the result of AI.

When you believe you have written your best essay, submit your work (this is where many students panic. They feel it should be better and send it all through an AI tool. Don’t panic!)

Your professors will present you with feedback to help you become the best academic writer possible. Use this feedback to improve.

I hope this makes sense. Professors teaching at the Bachelor’s level expect Bachelor’s level words and writing (we aren’t expecting perfection) – and we will help you get better. But, if your work reflects the “plain vanilla” voice of AI, I cannot help you develop your own voice. Trust me on this: your generation craves the creativity and unique voice that only humans can bring. 

This is a new element of academia, but studies already strongly warn about the downsides of AI overuse (or addiction.) Here’s a quote to encourage you that you are enough and can be successful as a student without over-reliance on AI (no matter what your peers say.)

This study identified five results of over-dependence on AI:

“The top five negative effects of AI dependency include increased laziness, the spread of misinformation, a lower level of creativity, and reduced critical and independent thinking” (Zhang, 2024, para. 1).

Your voice is important enough to develop and be heard! I hope this helps in your academic pursuits. Give us your best work.

Professor Harrell

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21(1), 34.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-024-00467-0