Educator warns students 'cheating en masse' with AI, facing huge future cost

An alarming trend of students extensively using Artificial Intelligence tools for their schoolwork is prompting warnings from educators about the potential long-term consequences. Alex Stratulat, a Romanian educator who mentors students for international Olympiads, expressed deep concern that widespread, uncontrolled access to AI like ChatGPT is essentially enabling "mass cheating."

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If you don't master the field through your own effort first, AI cannot do the job for you, but, once you have mastered the knowledge and applied it a few times, then the tool can become useful.

Stratulat described AI as a "double-edged sword," cautioning that providing students with advanced technological tools before they master fundamental learning processes could foster intellectual passivity. He fears this reliance on AI could lead to a "huge bill" in the future, as students may fail to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

His concerns come as the European Commission and OECD are pushing for urgent AI literacy programs in schools. While some countries, like France, are already introducing AI-focused courses, the debate in Romania is in its early stages. Stratulat emphasizes that AI tools can be beneficial, but only after students have put in the effort to understand subjects themselves.

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The main objective must remain the development of the mind, and if we offer the answer on a platter, we do more harm than good.

"If you don't master the field through your own effort first, AI cannot do the job for you," Stratulat stated in an interview with Adevărul. He stressed that the primary goal should remain the development of the mind, and providing answers without effort does more harm than good. He believes significant psychological work is needed to help students understand that present-day shortcuts will have severe future repercussions on their cognitive abilities.

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AI is a double-edged sword, and here a lot of psychological work is needed for students to understand that if they cheat now, they will pay a huge bill in the future, when their brain will no longer be able to think.