It is no secret that we live in a society that is being trained to rely increasingly on AI to function. And of course, I see how AI has the potential to do good. Automating processes, speeding up administrative tasks, and analyzing data in the blink of an eye all sound great. But what worries me is how few people I see pointing out the negative impact of AI. Am I the only one who feels like I am being dragged into the world of AI with my heels digging into the ground? When I voice my hesitation and distaste for AI, the response I often hear is something along the lines of “Well, it’s here to stay, so either get on board or fall behind.” Despite my outward confidence that I am doing the right thing by declining to use AI most of the time (it’s hard when I can’t even Google something these days without my principles being violated!), sometimes I worry that my stubborn, old-fashioned ways will backfire, and I’ll be left in the dust while the world around me continues down the path I imagine leads to the universe of WALL-E. Before I spiral too much, let’s get to the point: AI scares me.
Especially as a fraternity/sorority life professional, what scares me the most is the possibility that increased AI usage stunts the development of our students and enables the lack of human connection that plagues our modern society. The reason why sororities and fraternities were created was to empower students to foster a sense of community, belonging, and mutual purpose during their collegiate years and beyond. Human connection and development are the foundation of everything that our organizations do and everything that our chosen field of work aims to champion and protect. In my opinion, we should all be scared, or at least a little more cautious, about the widespread use of AI among our students.
When I think about AI and the potential threat it poses, my fears can be sorted into three main categories: human connection and belonging, leadership and skill development, and devaluing higher education.
Human Connection and Belonging
One of the things I love most about my job is that it is very people-centered. While some of my friends sit at their computers all day long with little to no human interaction, I get to engage with students and collaborate with colleagues very regularly. That is how sororities and fraternities function, too: we are nothing without our members. What worries me about AI in this context is that it has the potential to substitute for human connection. What if the chapter president I advise starts asking AI to solve the problem they are having with a fellow exec officer instead of me? What if that council officer starts relying on AI to brainstorm programming ideas rather than engaging in meaningful dialogue about the needs of the community during a council meeting? Additionally, AI tends to reinforce your own perspective (as if we don’t get enough bias reinforcement from social media algorithms these days). How will students learn to engage in dialogue across differences and truly foster connection and belonging among our diverse communities if their AI usage deprives them of that opportunity?
Leadership and Skill Development
As students deepen their dependence on AI, they also rob themselves of the opportunity to develop valuable leadership skills. How are students supposed to learn to think critically if they depend on AI to interpret ideas or articles rather than relying on their own comprehension skills? How are students supposed to learn how to solve problems if they plug every question, challenge, or obstacle into AI to troubleshoot for them? How are students supposed to learn how to communicate if they rely on AI to write most of their essays and emails? All of these skills are essential to developing as a leader and a professional, something we often claim as a perk of sorority and fraternity membership.
What scares me even more than students lacking valuable skills is this thought: are these skills even essential anymore? If every professional field begins relying on AI to ideate, problem solve, communicate, etc., do students entering the professional world even need to possess these skills?
Devaluing Higher Education
We already know that students are questioning whether or not higher education is worth it. As tuition costs continue to rise, students (and parents) really need to see the return on investment of a college degree and the benefit of the college experience. Whenever I see students relying on AI to do their homework or write their emails, I wonder why they are spending so much money to attend this university while outsourcing their learning and development to a computer. If students don’t take advantage of the opportunity to truly learn and challenge themselves at college, what is the value of higher education? And do we even need intelligent, entry level professionals with highly developed skillsets who don’t get paid enough to repay their student loans if AI can do their jobs for them?
Of course I am catastrophizing a little bit. My hope is that we don’t get to a point where AI and robots have completely taken over and humans have obliterated the need for other humans. I recognize that AI is used to simplify small tasks more often than it is used as a complete replacement for human thought. But it is a slippery slope, and that is my whole point. It is unrealistic to think that we can prevent our students, or society as a whole, from using AI. I am sure that some wonderful innovations that do a lot of good will come from this new tool. I bet the way I feel about AI is similar to the way that people in my parents’ generation may have felt when the internet was popularized in the 90s. Ultimately, I am a big believer that balance is best in all things, and that we should explore this new terrain with our students cautiously. Don’t get sucked in so deep that you forget how to be a human with complicated thoughts and endless potential. We have to remember that human connection and development are the “whys” behind the work that we do, and we should be wary of anything that potentially threatens that purpose.
About the Author
Rainey Lynch serves as the assistant director of sorority & fraternity life at Loyola Marymount University where she advises the Panhellenic Council, the Multicultural Greek Council, and a portfolio of chapters. Rainey graduated from LMU in 2019 and is a proud member of Pi Beta Phi. In her spare time, you can find her listening to Taylor Swift, treasure hunting at estate sales, and going to the beach.
