The Artificial Intelligence Agenda by Martasia

The Artificial Intelligence Agenda by Martasia - July 2026 Scholarship Essay

As the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) spreads across the nation, there has been a rise in opinions within schools between staff and students about how beneficial it is to use within a classroom. While it has proven to be a helpful tool, many scholars disapprove of its usage, while others support the usage of AI. Essentially, AI is a tool that is capable of performing human tasks such as answering school-related questions, figuring out problems, or even writing this essay (no AI was used in the writing of this essay). It's composed of a wide range of technology that analyzes data. It sounds nice but can get difficult in terms of schoolwork and learning. I discovered this firsthand.

Artificial Intelligence was a challenge for me in my recent semester of college. Since it has become so popular amongst my generation, my peers have been using it to do things like assist with assignments and answer test questions. All of my schoolwork has been original and thought-out. The use of AI isn't entirely wrong. It can be helpful to create a study guide and assist with studying, however, many of my professors have banned it in our class, while others encourage the use with limitations. The feeling of "going against" using AI to write my own assignments was the challenge, and I won. While some of my peers looked for inspiration on 'ChatGPT', I did not. There is simply no use for it when there is critical thinking.

Challenges like this push me to go head-to-head with my thinking skills and prove that simple assignments don't need AI assistance. Using AI not only hinders your learning experience, but your critical thinking skills as well. In many ways, it is seen as a form of cheating at school. It strengthened me to do my best in work and simply pushes me to think more. You could put anything down on paper, but if you're asked about your assignment that AI has written for you, how can you prove your knowledge and research of the subject?

Assignments get tough. Last semester, I had an assignment where I had to write a paper about the story 'Metamorphosis' and talk about a certain topic within the story. I didn't want to do the assignment, and I didn't want to read it and find examples. I figured, why not use AI and ask? I pulled it up, put in my assignment question and requirements, and watched as it generated my entire work for me. I had a friend who had done it, and I figured I could do it also and get away with it. As I read what the generated prompt gave, I noticed writing patterns that seemed too out of place and wrong. It gave the assignment a feeling that I, as the reader, did not like. There were areas I wanted to correct simply because they didn't make sense. After rereading it more than twice, I realized that I didn't need the prompt that was written for me- and I never did. Just because I didn't want to do my work, doesn't mean something else has to and risk getting in trouble anyways! I read my book, I took notes, I created an outline- I wrote my work.

I did it because I knew I could, and it was my work alone to do. Using AI may seem like the "easy" way to do your work, but relying on it can damage it just as much as you can yourself. The experience has taught me that my own strength is enough. It's important that we take the time to try first before deciding we need it done for us.