Professors: AI in Classroom Crucial for Real-World Skills
As colleges and universities prepare for a new academic year, educators nationwide continue to grapple with the complex role of generative artificial intelligence in student learning. While some professors cautiously embrace the technology, others view it with skepticism, citing enduring concerns about academic dishonesty, the potential for AI models to “hallucinate” or generate factual inaccuracies, and broader anxieties about the long-term impact on human intelligence.
Yet, a growing consensus among faculty suggests that completely excluding AI from the classroom could severely hinder students’ professional development. The rapid adoption of AI tools in the business world makes AI literacy an increasingly vital skill. Victor Lee, an associate professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, articulates this imperative: “If integrated well, AI in the classroom can strengthen the fit between what students learn and what students will see in the workforce and world around them.”
AI companies are actively facilitating this integration, rolling out features specifically designed for educational use. Google, for instance, has offered its Gemini AI free for one year to students and has experimental tools like “Learn About” and “NotebookLM,” which recently received a suite of new generative AI capabilities. OpenAI has introduced “Study Mode” in ChatGPT, designed to guide students through problem-solving step-by-step rather than simply providing answers. Similarly, Grammarly has launched AI-powered tools, including an “AI Grader” that offers assignment suggestions and grade predictions based on rubrics, and agents that flag unsupported claims, prompting students to provide evidence and recommend credible sources. As Luke Behnke, Grammarly’s vice president of product management, notes, “Colleges recognize it’s their responsibility to prepare students for the workforce, and that now includes AI literacy.”
Universities themselves are also embedding AI into their educational infrastructure. Many institutions are integrating AI functionalities into their learning management systems and providing students and staff with direct access to leading AI models like Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Duke University in North Carolina, for example, offers all its staff and students free access to OpenAI’s GPT-5, complete with its advanced mathematics and coding tools. University offices dedicated to enhancing teaching quality are actively guiding faculty on effective AI integration strategies.
The practical application of AI in the classroom is already yielding new pedagogical approaches. Longji Cuo, an associate professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, teaches a course where mechanical engineering students leverage AI for real-world problem-solving, teamwork, coding, and presentations. While encouraging AI use, Cuo emphasizes a higher standard of work, expecting students to “demonstrate creativity on the level of a senior-level doctoral student or equivalent.” He cautions against blindly accepting AI output, which can be prone to errors, urging students to critically evaluate, select, and read more independently to produce work that doesn’t overtly appear AI-generated.
Other professors are navigating AI’s presence by adapting their coursework. Paul Shovlin, an assistant professor of AI and digital rhetoric at Ohio University, observes that some faculty mitigate AI use by altering assignments, while others choose to avoid it entirely. However, Shovlin highlights that students are already employing AI for personalized learning, collaboration, writing, and streamlining their coursework. His own new media composition course uses generative AI as a tool to create foundational assets, allowing students to focus on higher-level creative and conceptual tasks rather than basic building blocks. For instance, in a graphic novel assignment, AI image creation tools can generate elements that students then integrate into their designs. “Drawing is not a learning outcome for the class,” Shovlin explains, “but successfully engaging in a substantial multimedia composition is.”
Experts agree that AI can be immensely valuable in the classroom, provided students engage critically, ask insightful questions, and actively develop their skills. Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates, stresses that effectiveness hinges on knowing “the right questions to ask” and identifying “a competent AI model.” He warns, however, that students who rely on AI to simply write their papers risk undermining their own skill development. Looking ahead, Gold envisions a future where personalized AI agents could revolutionize education, offering tailored guidance to individual students, potentially shifting the traditional teacher-to-student ratio.
The integration of AI into higher education is not a simple on-off switch; it’s a nuanced evolution that demands critical engagement, ethical awareness, and transparency from both educators and students.