Artificial intelligence (AI) revolutionizes how students and educators alike approach academics. At Wake Forest University, professors seek new ways to adjust their courses to balance AI literacy with academic integrity.
Particularly in creative fields, creative thought is crucial to students’ success. While there is certainly some benefit to AI, professors must weigh its usefulness against the harm it causes students, and many are being innovative about how they approach its inclusion in the classroom.
For professors of writing-intensive courses, a consistent consideration is: how could they ensure students were still practicing original thinking when AI can produce essays in seconds?
English Professor Hannah Harrison addressed this question with an open, yet ethically-led mindset for AI collaboration. She said students are independent thinkers who have to recognize when the line has been drawn.
“If you have AI write a prompt and turn it in, that’s unethical,” Harrison said.
She added: “My inclination is to co-construct an AI policy that works alongside students,” Harrison said. “However, in the age of AI, we have to do a lot more policing than ever before. But again, I feel like you’ll find a lot of faculty that don’t feel like it’s their job, or don’t want to do it poorly if they’re going to have to do it.”
As writing professors wrestle with their relationship with AI in the classroom, faculty in other fields weigh how AI impacts different kinds of assignments.
Palmer Holton, an adjunct assistant art professor, said it is harmful to the self when students rely on AI.
“If I ask you a question and then you use ChatGPT, you’re kind of making yourself the middleman to a conversation I’m having with a computer,” Holton said. “You’re saying ‘I’m redundant as a person in the classroom’. So don’t do it philosophically.”
However, Holton also offered some mild pushback based on his experience teaching an animation course, and said modern AI technology can compress traditionally time-consuming editing tasks into a seamless workflow.
“Why wouldn’t you take advantage of that efficiency?” Holton said.
In the music department, assignments are being redesigned to encourage creativity that AI cannot replicate.
In an interview with Marco Sartor, assistant teaching music professor, he said there is a need to adjust assignments to prevent unethical AI usage by students.
“I had students turn in papers they couldn’t even explain, so I modified my assignments,” Sartor said. “For example, I now ask students to compare two performances at exact timestamps– something AI can’t do. That way I know they really listened.”
Beyond in-class policies, professors who study AI directly offer a more research-focused perspective.
James Proszek, who teaches under the Department of Communication, said there is an appropriate degree of AI use in academic settings.
“AI can be used for good when it augments existing labor, yet dangerous when it replaces or manipulates, like election interference,” Proszek said.
Proszek said in his classes that he is transparent regarding AI and how he incorporates it into assignment creation. However, he noted that he is critical of professors who use AI tools to assess student work or detect plagiarism.
Regarding student advice, he encouraged students to experiment with AI gradually.
“Start small,” Proszek said. “Don’t try everything at once because comfort and familiarity with the software matter more than paying for subscriptions. Consult the library first to find free, effective AI tools before spending money.”
