Many teenagers say they're amenable to using artificial intelligence to do the heavy lifting on homework for them.
That's according to a survey conducted last month by Big Village for Junior Achievement. Forty-four percent of respondents say they're "likely" to use AI for schoolwork instead of doing it themselves.
"It really does seem like it has taken off like a wildfire. I think just like with any other technology, you know, kids today are digital natives. And they thrive on technology," said Mary Pille, president of Junior Achievement of Central Illinois. "And so it doesn't really surprise me at all that they are utilizing, say, ChatGPT, or what they call generative AI."
But 60% of respondents said they consider using AI to be cheating. For Pille, the technology is another tool, but not a replacement, for doing the work.
"At the end of the day, you have to have marketable skills, and you're not always going to have that to rely on," she said.
Junior Achievement focuses on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career readiness.
Pille said AI isn't going away, so the challenge is to ensure it's used ethically in education.
"I think transparency is key. Just like if you're doing a research paper, you cite where your sources came from, or you're writing an article or doing an interview, you cite your sources. And I think that would just be another source that you utilize," she said.
The Youth CARAVAN online survey of 1,006 13-to-17 year olds was conducted July 6-11. The survey's margin of error is +/- 3.1%.
