By Daniel Malki
AI has become a huge part of everyday life and it affects everyone. This article will explain AI’s effects on Gen-Z and future generations, it will be focusing on key areas like education and daily life. The article provides student and teacher perspectives to get detail about AI and how it affects generations.
Some students’ feelings about AI’s role in education are strong. For example, Cal Segle, a Freshman From Benicia High School stating “I use AI for everything, food recipes, literally everyday use for everyday problems, when you search something up you wanna know instead of a website it’s actually an AI like ads, videos, and results, you don’t know if it’s real or not.” He believes most classmates would agree that using tools such as AI are necessary for the future.
According to the U.S. College Board 84% of High School Students were using generative AI for school work by May 2025. According to the report, 85% agree that students can benefit from AI to improve their learning. However most express concern that using AI will make them less intelligent and too dependent on devices. Teachers worry about this a lot, stated in the article High School Students Use of Generative AI, “More than 8 in 10 AP teachers agree that AI makes students overly dependent on technology for basic tasks, less likely to develop critical thinking, reduces students ability to express original ideas, and less likely to engage deeply with course materials.” However a majority of teachers, 58%, agree that AI truly is helpful in providing personalized explanations of complex concepts to students. Overall most High School teachers and administrators are taking a more cautious approach to AI. I got this quote along with information in the text form “Adair et al U.S. High School Students Use of Generative AI”
Mr Hughes, an English teacher from Benicia High School agrees with the opinions of most teachers in the college board report. He says that he believes technology is a helpful tool but cautions against over-reliance, stating, “I think it’s a really efficient and convenient way to get feedback. But the cons are that it gives a lot of opportunity for laziness and often misses out on a lot of critical thinking as a result.” He emphasizes that AI should serve as an assistant, not a replacement for fundamental skills such as thinking.
What does research say? One recent review article focuses on AI in college it sumarizes findings from 9 separate studies. The key take away is that benefits are balanced with drawbacks. The main benefits are personalized learning experiences, better mental health support, time saving, ability to meet diverse learning needs, and improved communication. The main drawbacks are fewer face to face interactions, more loneliness techno stress, data privacy concerns, and job displacement concerns. “As AI becomes more embedded in education, it is crucial to develop strategies that mitigate its negative effects while promoting holistic well being among students.” Quotes and facts stated by Klimova and Pickhart 2025 Exploring the Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Student and Academic Well Being and Higher Education; A Mini Review.
Over all, students and teachers alike have mixed opinions on how AI will and has affected their futures as Freshman Cal Segle says “AI is growing too fast because 4 years ago ChatGPT and AI wasn’t really a thing and now it’s telling you false information a lot of the time and the videos and images it can create effect a lot of people in negative way.”
beniciapaw.com 