It is a common theme in popular fiction that artificial intelligence is going to take over the world, in movies such as “The Matrix” and “Terminator.”

It seems like this trope may not be that fictional after all, given the modern advancements we have made in artificial intelligence technology.

In a society where artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly accessible and complex, it makes you wonder: have we bitten off more than we can chew?

Artificial intelligence is the capacity for learning and thought in computer programs. Everything that includes a program performing a task that we would typically associate with human intelligence is considered artificial intelligence.

Today, artificial intelligence can be seen offering a plethora of services such as smart assistants like Siri, face recognition on phones, and the most appetizing to us college students –
programs that write papers such as ChatGPT.

With the help of ChatGPT, an AI-powered natural language processing tool, you may communicate with a chatbot in a way that is like that of a human being while also doing a lot
more. The program was created by a young student from Princeton University.

The language model may help you with things like writing emails, essays, and code as well as provide answers to your questions.

With access to such a program like this, it was certain that college students would jump at the opportunity to use this chatbot if the chances of them getting caught was low.

Essay-writing AI isn’t new, but most of the services that were formerly used have become detectable by the average plagiarism checker.

Research papers and other essays can be a pain for students who are most likely already busy, overwhelmed and stressed out, so a free AI chatbot that writes an undetectable paper sounds like
a dream come true.

However, we should truly consider the downsides of such a program in our schools.

It is understandable to want to take a shortcut to tedious and sometimes unnecessary tasks like writing an essay, but using an AI bot is not only cheating your professors, but it is cheating
yourself. It is a much more satisfying and rewarding feeling when you complete a big research paper by yourself.

Also, it opens the possibility of increased surveillance and monitoring of what students are up to.

According to Slate, educational technology companies could be willing to offer more surveillance of students to “preserve academic integrity and the sanctity of the degrees that they work hard for.”

Even though such a program is a danger to academic integrity, it would not be effective to ban the program at universities.

Universities such as Princeton and NYU opted out of banning the service, instead advising professors to set their own policies concerning the program.

Even if you banned ChatGPT on campus, students would find a way to use the service outside of campus limits anyways.

ChatGPT may be an appealing, free resource that is available for use now, but students should think about the ways this program can be detrimental to their education.

This editorial reflects the general opinion of The Spectator.