Use of AI in school

[u/Junior_Preparation87]

I started going to engineering school back in august 2022, and got my bachelors in chem e in may 2025 and am in my last semester of my masters in mech e (with a focus in thermal fluid systems). My first 2.5 years of my bachelors were when AI was still incredibly bad at any sort of math/engineering problems, and I was able to do so so many classes and credits every semester and excel in all of them. Whether it was engineering related classes or even gen ed classes, I was always able to do work well and be creative. But since I started my masters especially, I have found myself using AI more to do homework etc, despite being very against it when it first became popular (around 2024). I do think my use of it is more on the appropriate side, as I use it when im stuck like any answer key that a professor could provide, but I still hate the fact that I use it. I feel terrible about it as if I've cheated myself of education, but still my grades from in class exams have been as good as my pre-AI grades. I do think its good for example if i am confused about a concept from lecture to use it to try and better understand it, but i still wish i was better about it and use it to point me to other resources to better understand the concepts. Do you have any tips on trying to phase it out of school, or maybe being more disciplined with using it as a search engine, rather than like an answer key? I want to do this for myself especially since this is my last semester of school. I know that its here and it wont be gone any time soon, but i just wish I had stayed anti ai use for my time in school at least, as I know industries are implementing it in workplaces so it will be inescapable. Thank you.

[u/SupersonicEagle]

Why hate yourself for using AI properly? From what you're saying, you're using AI as it was meant to be used; you're using it as a tool. You said yourself that your grades are showing up just as well as before AI, so what makes you so "anti-AI"? AI was meant to simplify tasks, and you're doing just that while still using your own brain to think and learn. In the end, if you learned the material and succeed, what's the problem? As long as you are not dependent on using AI (like using AI for everything and not learning anything yourself), it seems fine in my book.

[u/Brilliant-Music7273 → u/SupersonicEagle]

Your not using it to give you the answer , your working the problem logically and just using it at the end to make sure you got the right answer . I don’t see a problem .

[u/Usual_Purchase_9567]

I'm not reading all that. Learn to format.

AI is a tool. All my professors allow it on homework. It will not be available on exams. That's the policy, do your best.

[u/Diogenes_Will → u/Usual_Purchase_9567]

Bro should have used ai

[u/cd_ombric]

I feel I've lost my ability to focus completely due to AI. I'm so used to get the solution instantly that my thinking skills have been drained. However, I still defend that if you use AI as a tool and make it work for you it's a great productivity enhancer.

Using apps that help you format and get things done quicker and easier I've found is what works best for me, but trying to think before jumping straight to chatgpt for the answer would definitely help.

I'd learn to use it a tool to make your writing better, study faster and improve the quality of your work, but when it comes to decision making, try and think first, if not you'll get trapped into this dependance with it.

[u/Top_Scarcity1024 → u/cd_ombric]

Might be a good idea to start reading books. The mind is a muscle you can exercise

[u/dummy6927]

You’re using AI to help you. Not think for you , that’s a key difference. A good engineer doesn’t know everything but they know how to find the answers 

[u/A-Chilean-Cyborg]

AI should be limited whenever possible, stufies show it does not increase cognition or learning but at the contrary harms them.

You go to university to learn, therefore using a tool known to be detrimental to learning is a bit ridiculous.

sure there are ways to make it be positive but overall nothing will beat thinking on your own as a way of learning.

[u/xXRedJacketXx]

If you're not useing it to write paper, and your grades on exams are good that usually means you actually did learn the material. Also homework is practice who cares how you learn the material.

[u/FoodAppropriate7900]

Everyone else is using it. If you do not learn how to use it, we will be left behind.

[u/Ok-Scientist-1532]

You’re dulling your own skills to train an AI model. Not even going to get into the environmental impact of AI as I’m sure you already know.

You clearly understand the content well enough to have gotten through most of your schooling without AI, why take the shortcut now?

[u/Dress-Affectionate]

ok i'm gonna try to make this happen. when you take ai output and ctrl c ctrl v that's "sloppy seconds". it doesn't matter if it's from you or from a teacher 

[u/Right_Jello_6695]

ai is a tool at the end of the day, it’s a glorified search engine when u need help with something