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The Real Risk of AI in the Classroom Isn't the Tool, It's the Shortcut
Artificial intelligence has moved from novelty to daily habit in classrooms across the country, and the debate over what that means for learning shows no sign of slowing down. Some schools have built AI into their curriculum. Others have banned it outright. Caught in the middle are students trying to figure out where the technology actually helps and where it quietly gets in the way. Trent Kays, PhD, an assistant professor and Director of Professional Writing and Rhetoric at Augusta University, has spent time researching exactly that question, and he recently sat down with FOX54 News to talk through what he's seeing firsthand. Kays, who also serves as a faculty affiliate in Women's and Gender Studies and specializes in digital rhetoric and machine writing, says students are already using AI for far more than quick homework help, from brainstorming and studying to building out entire lesson plans on their own. The bigger concern, according to Kays, isn't misuse in the obvious sense. It's what he calls cognitive offloading, students handing the thinking itself over to the machine. "Students are essentially using AI to do their thinking for them, which is not something that they should do," he said. It's part of why he keeps AI out of his first- and second-year courses entirely: those early classes are where students build the critical thinking skills they'll need before a tool can actually help. "They have to be able to think critically first before they can ask a tool to help them." Accuracy is its own problem. AI tools have gotten sharper, but Kays points out they still fabricate information regularly, including sources that were never real to begin with, something students are far less likely to catch than an instructor who actually reads the citations. None of this means Kays thinks AI belongs outside the classroom. He describes it as a potential process partner, something that can push a student's thinking further rather than replace it, as long as the structure around it is clear. As he put it, what schools need now is to "craft clear guidelines and structures for students to follow so that they know how to use it and how to use it well." Read the full interview and FOX54's coverage here: AI in the Classroom: Augusta University Professor Explains the Benefits and Risks Dr. Trent Kays is available for interviews on AI in education, digital rhetoric, and responsible AI use in academic settings. If you're covering similar stories, click on this icon to schedule time with him.
