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AI use can ‘stunt intellectual growth,’ memo says
The University of Chicago Law School is banning phones, tablets, and laptops during class beginning this fall to promote “essential human” skills in response to artificial intelligence.
The school announced the decision in a Thursday memo titled, “Rethinking Legal Education in the AI Era.”
In addition to banning electronic devices, the memo states that all tests “will be in-class without access to the internet, electronic files, or apps.”
“With AI disrupting higher education, our commitment to rigorous legal education also must mean openness to even rapid adaptation,” it states.
“We need to ensure that our students actually learn to think critically, strategically, and independently without relying on AI; but we also must face the reality that AI tools are already widely available to our students, and our graduates will be expected to be prepared to use them in legal practice,” the memo states.
It notes that using AI can “stunt intellectual growth,” cause students to become overreliant, and prevent them from learning how to think critically.
However, the policy allows for some exceptions, such as “classroom ‘scribes’ who can use electronic devices to take notes for the class,” and “specific tech-enabled activities.”
The memo also states that it does not aim to ban the use of AI entirely.
“It is simply unrealistic to think that students and lawyers will not use AI,” it reads. “But legal technology is changing rapidly, and there is no guarantee that the specific AI tools or techniques that are ascendant today will be useful when current students enter practice.”
“Thus, AI skills training requires more than producing students who can use the tools that are currently part of legal practice,” the memo states.
UChicago isn’t the only law school to address the shifting landscape.
Beginning this summer, University of California Berkeley School of Law students are banned from using artificial intelligence to complete coursework or exams, The College Fix reported.
Under the newly adopted policy, students cannot “conceptualize, outline, draft, revise, and edit their work” using AI.
Meanwhile, more and more students and staff are using AI on campuses across the world.
A new report from the Digital Education Council revealed that almost 90 percent of students use artificial intelligence in their learning, and 77 percent of faculty use AI to help them teach, The College Fix reported.
Regarding assessments, 57 percent of students said they do not have adequate guidance on AI use. And 73 percent of students in the U.S. and Canada are worried AI will give some students an unfair advantage.
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