AI writing programs such as ChatGPT can create essays on any topic or solve math problems. Students have tried to use these to write their own essays and turn them in as in class assignments. “I have seen a couple students submit work written by Chat GPT,” English teacher Daniel Pecoraro said.

Freshman Helen Manolis does not believe in using a chat bot to write her essays for her. She believes doing her own work is best, and the difference from her own writing and AI is easy to spot. “I don’t like to use a bot to do my assignments; it’s easier to do my own work and not worry about getting caught,” Manolis said.

According to Pecoraro, the difference between AI writing and actual students’ writing is easy to spot. A human is more natural and their writing will flow, while AI writing will seem like it was written by a robot. “The work written by AI is very repetitive and very vague and general,” Pecoraro said.

Pecoraro also said that students should be responsible for their own work. Pecoraro believes that it is not difficult to do your own work and write on your own. “It makes it hard for me to grade their own work when it isn’t their own work,” Pecoraro said.

Sophomore Paul Weiner believes students must be responsible for writing their own work. He would not use an AI for school unless he was messing around or using it for a school project. “I don’t think it’s a good idea because it doesn’t really help students learn and sometimes it gets the information wrong,” Weiner said.

There are students who believe that using an AI in school is morally wrong, while there are others who believe it could be helpful to certain students who aren’t strong writers. For Weiner, as long as students who do use AI do not make it his problem, he does not care. “I don’t have an opinion on people who use it since it doesn’t really affect me,” Weiner said.

Pecoraro will present students with a consequence if they are caught using an AI since it is a violation of MCPS guidelines. “I told the student that I would give him a zero on the assignment, but I would regrade if he wrote it,” Pecoraro said.

Manolis has experimented with AI and read writing done by AI. She does not like how the AI writes and thinks that the quality is poor compared to human writing. “I have read work from an AI and even for me I find it easy to spot the difference between the two,” Manolis said.

Pecoraro said that teachers are well trained and can recognize students’ writing versus AI writing. He encourages students to write their own essays and do their own work for the sake of themselves. “Students will often realize that it is much easier to do the work themselves and to not rely on the bots,” Pecoraro said.