Student use of AI is on the rise — Campus Technology

Survey: Student use of AI is on the rise

According to Microsoft's latest AI in Education report, 93% of students nationwide have used AI for school-related purposes at least once or twice. The company partnered with PSB Insights to survey American students ages 16 and older and international educators and academic leaders in K-12 and higher education (1,851 total respondents) to better understand the current state of AI in education, how it is currently being used, and how it could be used in the future.

The report notes that student use of AI is on the rise, with a 26 percentage point increase in the percentage of U.S. students who report using AI “frequently” for school-related purposes compared to last year. Conversely, the percentage of students who responded that they had never used AI decreased by 20 points from last year. 42% of students said they use AI weekly in school, and 30% said they use it daily.

Students reported various use cases for AI. In particular, plagiarism (“Use AI to do assignments for me”) ranked at the bottom of the list.

• to assist with task initiation and brainstorming (cited by 37% of respondents);
• To summarize information for me (33%);
• To get the answers and information you need faster (33%);
• to get initial feedback on your work (32%);
• To enable you to learn or study in a way that works best for you (30%);
• to improve writing skills (28%);
• To make presentations and projects more visually appealing (25%);
• To acquire the skills needed for my future (22%);
• To complete tasks for me (22%);
• To increase creativity (21%);
• To free up time to focus on learning and connecting (21%); and
• To be able to better manage themselves and their health (19%).

The top student concerns about AI were:

• Likelihood of being accused of plagiarism or fraud (mentioned by 33% of respondents).
• Likelihood of over-reliance on AI tools (30%).
• Misinformation that leads to inaccurate use or interpretation of AI-generated content (28%).
• Missing out on the most meaningful and fun parts of learning (24%). and
• Ethical concerns such as the impact on human autonomy and liability for AI-driven actions (24%).

The report provides several recommendations for the use of AI in education.

• Work with educators and students to find out what's working well and where there are additional opportunities.
• Be open to experimenting with new ways to enhance learning by using AI to complement rather than replace traditional learning methods.
• Invite students to the table to provide input on your organization's AI plans.

The full report is available on the Microsoft site.