There are a variety if “guides” out there to try to provide some sort of structure and sense to the question, “Should a student use AI on this assignment?” None of them are very useful.
I agree - these Acceptable Use Scales are not especially useful or realistic. But I'm not sure with all the current capabilities of AI tools available in 2025 (or 2026, 2027, etc...), a graduate student like Bob (there we go with the anthropomorphizing) is the best analogy. Bob can't search millions of academic papers in 30 seconds or create an excel spreadsheet instantly or code a functional website with a 3 sentence prompt. This is very funny but I think these documents won't last because the rise of AI agents are just going to automate so many of the tasks we take for granted that we ask students to do.
Love how you distilled this into a simple enough comparison that makes a conversation about ethics (ie, not having Bob do your homework.) I’d like to know how the use of AI impacts brain development and learning.
I feel like my teen using AI to develop an outline is much different than someone like me - an adult with decades of experience, education, etc. What learning and brain development doesn’t happen if she doesn’t practice developing ideas?
I agree - these Acceptable Use Scales are not especially useful or realistic. But I'm not sure with all the current capabilities of AI tools available in 2025 (or 2026, 2027, etc...), a graduate student like Bob (there we go with the anthropomorphizing) is the best analogy. Bob can't search millions of academic papers in 30 seconds or create an excel spreadsheet instantly or code a functional website with a 3 sentence prompt. This is very funny but I think these documents won't last because the rise of AI agents are just going to automate so many of the tasks we take for granted that we ask students to do.
Love how you distilled this into a simple enough comparison that makes a conversation about ethics (ie, not having Bob do your homework.) I’d like to know how the use of AI impacts brain development and learning.
I feel like my teen using AI to develop an outline is much different than someone like me - an adult with decades of experience, education, etc. What learning and brain development doesn’t happen if she doesn’t practice developing ideas?