Advanced Knowledge: Related to AI
This year, we decided to enroll in an online course through Coursera on artificial intelligence. We'd heard so much about AI from the news and social media, but we didn't really know anything about it. The majority of our friends just hear "ChatGPT" or "robots taking jobs" and panic or joke about using it to get homework done. But we wanted to know the real power of AI, and more importantly, how to use it without getting lazy because of it. That class completely changed the way we look at the future and the way we use technology in our everyday lives.
The class did seem kind of intimidating at first, and that was mainly because AI does sound pretty high-tech. But the instructors broke it down in a way that made sense, even to us teens. We learned about machine learning, training data, and how programs like ChatGPT actually generate responses. What amazed us the most was how easy it was to start using AI once we had the fundamentals down. It wasn't about being a technologist or a genius with code, it was about how to pose the right questions, give good directions, and know when AI would help and when to use your own head.
How to use AI as a tool, and not a crutch, was one of the most useful things in the course. They emphasized that AI is not intended to substitute your creativity or problem-solving, but enhance it. For example, now when we are writing essays or brainstorming for schoolwork, we use AI to put our ideas together or check the grammar, but we still do all the work ourselves. In that way, we don't cheat, we just get better at how we do things. It's similar to having an extremely helpful assistant, not a robot doing your homework.
We talked a lot about how AI is going to impact jobs, school, and even the way we talk in the next five to ten years. It's thrilling and a little frightening. But instead of worrying that AI will take our jobs, we're worried about how we can keep up. By learning how to use these tools now, we’re giving ourselves an edge that most other teens don’t have yet. It’s like we’re getting a head start in a race no one else knows has started. That’s honestly one of the coolest parts knowing we’re building skills for a future that’s already happening.
One of the favorites among our homework assignments in class was using AI to create a small website that could recommend books based on the interests of the person. It wasn't perfect, but it showed us what powerful tools we have if we use them in creative ways. It also led us to wonder how we might use AI not just to facilitate things, but to fix real problems in the world. Whether helping people to learn faster, improve their mental health, or just get through school less stressed, AI can do a lot of good if we approach it the right way.
Taking that class did not just teach us about artificial intelligence, it taught us how to think differently. We learned to work smarter, not lazier. We realized that AI is not to be feared, but to be learned and utilized purposefully. And we wish more teenagers our age would be just like us. Because let's face it, AI's here to stay, and it's way cooler to be ahead of the curve than behind it.