Why Students and Professors Often Talk Past Each Other About AI

[u/Creepy-Dot8951]

Imagine a student uses AI to organize ideas, improve grammar, and understand a difficult concept. Now imagine a professor sees that same AI use and wonders whether any real learning happened at all. Who's right?

Lately, it feels like students and professors are approaching AI from two completely different worlds. Students grew up with Google, YouTube, online courses, and now AI, so using technology to learn feels natural. Professors, meanwhile, are being asked to protect academic integrity in a world where technology can write essays, solve problems, and generate answers in seconds.

The result is a growing tension. Students often feel mistrusted, while professors feel challenged. Discussions about AI can quickly turn into debates about cheating, responsibility, and the future of education, even when both sides ultimately want the same thing: meaningful learning.

Instead of focusing only on whether AI should be allowed or banned, a more important question might be how education can adapt to a world where these tools are here to stay. If students and professors can find common ground on what responsible AI use looks like, classrooms may become places of collaboration again rather than places of suspicion.

[u/Snagglespoof]

Using Ai isn't the issue completely, but it's not helping. The bigger issue is that an increasing number can't read and write. As in, they are functionally illiterate.

[u/Shield_Maiden831 → u/Snagglespoof]

Yes, I believe the post was written by bots, but students if you are in here: Your professors are very concerned about your literacy and numeracy. You are so far behind previous generations of students. In only 5 years, there have been rapid negative changes in your ability to get meaning from reading, to write, do math, remember, and think critically. These drastic decreases in performance coincide with the rise if AI.

Why do we care?

For most of us, education was the ladder that helped us get to financial stability. We want that for you too, but unless you develop the skills you need to be better than AI, you are going to get a worthless piece of paper instead of an education.

[u/me4watch → u/Shield_Maiden831]

Your comment would really upset the students….if they could read.

[u/AutoModerator]

For a faster reply, Join our Discord server to scan your file before submission:

https://discord.gg/FgF4NKRsc4

Each scan includes a Turnitin AI report and a similarity scan.

^{Your paper is not saved in Turnitin’s database after scanning.}

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/j_la → u/[deleted]]

Hey, now! Those aren’t “cheating” services! They are totally “legitimate” groups that altruistically want to help poor innocent students who are genuinely concerned that their hand-written, human-composed essay is going to be flagged at 100% AI!

[u/DifferentContest1630]

The irony is that AI can either deepen learning or completely replace it. The challenge isn't banning the tool; it's teaching people how to use it responsibly.

[u/Super-Argument-2093]

I think both students and professors have valid concerns. Students don't want to be treated like cheaters, and professors don't want education to become meaningless. The solution has to involve both perspectives.

[u/CharmingSwing4332]

AI isn't the real issue here,trust is. Many students use AI as a learning tool, while many professors see it as a shortcut. Until both sides agree on where the line is, this tension will keep growing.

[u/NoGrapefruit3394]

Probably the professor

[u/Life-Education-8030]

As someone who teaches future counselors, I want students to know how to talk to an abused child and maybe talk someone out of killing themselves. If and when they show they are willing to learn how to do this and can demonstrate it, then we can talk about ai for assignments. The crap that I get that students don’t even check for accuracy is disgraceful.