AI is a powerful tool for students and non-students alike. It saves time, helps with homework, and is arguably efficient. But what is the cost of artificial intelligence? 

Students are becoming too reliant on it. 

Once upon a time, when students were assigned research essays, they would research a topic, and then write up and edit their paper until it was ready to submit. Procrastinators may have had to forgo the editing bit, but they would’ve still dedicated at least some time and effort to their assigned task. Whether you spent three weeks or three hours, you put in the work. 

Nowadays, students can submit papers by lifting their fingers just long enough to type a topic and press enter. People who abuse AI to do the work for them, rather than as a tool to use when needed, do not learn or benefit from their assignments. Instead, they use their brains to let AI do all the thinking for them. 

Why is this a bad thing? Well, to put it simply, students are missing out on the important skills developed through hands-on research, writing, or even editing (in some cases). AI also isn’t only being used for essays. Rather, students are finding new ways to use AI for their studies, like to solve math and statistical problems, create design work, and even to quickly summarise required readings. Students are no longer trying to manage their time as efficiently, working to be self-sufficient, or are they practicing the necessary skills for their degree of choice. 

A study by Micheal Gerlich published just three days into 2025 shows that people who become too reliant on AI are less likely to engage in critical thinking. Gerlich is a professor at the SBS Swiss Business School and heads the school’s centre for strategic corporate foresight and sustainability. His study suggests that younger individuals are more dependent on AI. So, younger people are more likely to be misled or to fall for propaganda due to their lack of critical thinking skills. Given our current age of misinformation, the younger generations, and the workplaces they grow into, face a huge problem. 

It’s reached a point where students around the globe are panicking when they don’t have access to AI, specifically ChatGPT. Just last December, ChatGPT suddenly crashed for a day during exam season. How did students respond? Thousands of them took to social media to express their frustration and panic. 
Many will argue that while yes, people can choose to use AI for the wrong reasons, this shouldn’t discount its benefits. My response? While there is of course nuance, good and bad for every new technological development, is a world of students far too reliant on technology to the point of sacrificing cognitive skills, really worth it?

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Graphic by Forrester Toews