A Via Media on AI

I was working in a public space when a nearby conversation caught my attention. One student told a colleague that she would be taking several difficult classes the next semester. He responded, “just use AI, and the classes will be really easy.” I sighed in disappointment.

Approximately 80% of undergraduate students worldwide use generative artificial intelligence to help with their coursework. AI can be a powerful tool for students in higher education, but only if they have already developed the ability to read and write effectively and to think critically. These fundamental skills are best developed independent of generative AI tools.

After all, relying solely on AI weakens students’ cognitive abilities. 90% of faculty in a recent survey believe that generative AI usage in higher education will diminish students’ critical thinking skills. Anthropic, the company that developed Claude, published a study that arrived at  a similar conclusion. Students in higher education use Claude most often for higher-order cognitive tasks, which raises concerns that students may be “outsourcing cognitive abilities to AI.”

The same concern applies to writing skills. Many high school graduates struggle with writing, to the point where many of their new professors argue that they cannot write at all. If these students take college courses and prompt AI to generate essay outlines, they will never learn how to organize their thoughts logically. If they copy-paste written content from AI, the quality of their writing will not improve through higher education.

Several of my college professors banned AI usage for essays, which required me to invest considerable time and effort into my work. These classes pushed me the most to grow as a thinker and writer. Could I have spent significantly less time on each essay if I had been permitted to use generative AI? Probably. Could I have edited the AI-generated content into an A-level essay? Probably. But would I have improved my critical thinking skills and the quality of my writing? Certainly not. Relying on AI would have robbed me of the opportunity to develop the essential skills of critical thinking, analysis, and proper writing.

Some students face the temptation to use generative AI because it helps them get good grades with little effort. Even though these students may leave the university with a high GPA, they end up paying for an expensive education that leaves them unprepared for the workplace. Students experience greater long-term benefits if they learn how to produce A-level work using their own mind, without needing to rely on AI.

While over-reliance on AI in education is dangerous, it must be said that it can also be dangerous to take the other extreme—treating AI as if it were demonic. If faculty forbid the usage of AI for coursework altogether, students may struggle with using AI tools effectively in their future jobs. Indeed, 63% of faculty in a survey said the 2025 graduates of their schools were not adequately prepared to use generative AI upon entering the workforce.

AI can be a very useful tool in education when students use it with discernment. One of my professors who allowed AI usage told the class to treat it as a colleague—to consider the useful ideas it gives but to examine its responses critically. Challenge it. Argue with it. Never let it do your thinking for you.

Students can leverage AI tools more effectively when they first develop their own reasoning and writing skills apart from AI. It is easier to examine and/or challenge an AI response when a student already knows how to analyze information critically. It is easier to improve AI-generated outlines or written content when a student already knows what good writing looks like.

Institutions of higher education face an ongoing challenge as AI usage expands further among students. Faculty have a responsibility to train students to read, write, and think critically without outsourcing to AI. These skills in turn enable students to use AI tools better.

Elizabeth Chen is a research and operations intern for the Martin Center. She is a rising senior at Patrick Henry College.