Is Artificial Intelligence Helping or Hurting Students?

By Jia Jun Yang

April 10, 2026

 

A student finishes an essay in minutes but did they actually learn anything?

 

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing education, raising an important question for students and teachers at UA Maker: is it helping students learn, or making it easier for them to avoid learning altogether?

 

At UA Maker, students and teachers are experiencing both the benefits and challenges of this technology in real time. While some see it as a powerful academic tool, others worry it is increasing cheating, weakening critical thinking skills, and forcing schools to rethink how learning is assessed.

 

Students themselves have mixed opinions about its impact.

 

“I’d have to say it regresses how people learn because they aren’t exactly memorizing what they need to know,” said Kingston Phoenix Merrigan, a 10th grader. “That slows the process of understanding topics correctly.”

 

At the same time, Merrigan acknowledged why students turn to it. “Students want to be at the same level as their peers. Because of that, they sometimes go to measures that aren’t exactly school appropriate.”

 

Miles Karasyk, also a 10th grader, believes the impact depends on how it is used.

 

“I think it depends what they’re using it for,” Karasyk said. “If they’re using it to write an essay entirely, it hurts their learning because they’re not absorbing information. But if they use it like a coach to help with ideas or outlines, it can actually help.”

 

Karasyk added that it can support students who struggle with certain skills. “For me, I’m really bad at note taking. Sometimes I use it to organize notes, and then I still learn from them,” he said.

 

Amy Piller, principal of UA Maker, said the rise of artificial intelligence has created new challenges for schools.

“AI will become more widely used and potentially used for cheating, so our job is to teach students how to use it ethically,” Piller said. “We also need more in-class, on-demand assignments with pen and paper.”

 

Artificial intelligence uses computer systems to simulate human thinking and solve complex problems. While it can support learning, it can also negatively impact students’ ability to write, think critically, and solve problems independently.

 

According to Education Week, about 3 percent of writing assignments are generated using AI, and surveys suggest that 60 to 70 percent of high school students have admitted to using tools like ChatGPT to cheat. This shift is already changing classroom practices.

 

Teachers say overreliance on these tools can weaken essential skills.

 

“It takes away the need for students to think critically, solve problems, and face challenges that AI won’t always solve for them,” said Brianna Di Liberti, a math teacher at UA Maker.

 

Amber Puglisi, a special education teacher, said students now struggle more to complete work independently than they did before these tools became widely available.

Ruby Simon, an English teacher at UA Maker, said instructional practices have also shifted.

 

“Before AI, we assigned more homework,” Simon said. “Now we are shifting to in-class assignments that are more AI-resistant so students can demonstrate their real skills.”

 

Despite these concerns, educators agree that artificial intelligence is not going away.

 

“It’s important for students to learn how to use AI ethically,” said Keisha Darius, an English and journalism teacher at UA Maker. “But they also need to learn how to think independently and complete work on their own.”

 

As artificial intelligence becomes more common in classrooms and future careers, the real challenge is not whether students will use it, but whether they can still learn to think for themselves without relying on it.