The use of artificial intelligence by students in educational activities (on the example of students of the Herzen state pedagogical university)

Abstract

The article has a dual purpose, firstly, to provide an analysis of the available sociological scientific literature, and secondly, based on empirical research, to trace trends in the use of artificial intelligence among students. The article discusses the features of the use of artificial intelligence by students in educational activities using the example of the Herzen University. The main attention is paid to the prevalence and forms of application of neural networks among students, as well as the assessment of positive and negative experiences associated with such practices. A multi-pronged study is presented, which includes four key stages: 1) online survey of students of humanities and natural sciences faculties, which allowed us to form a sociological portrait of an active user of neural networks and identify differences in their use between two groups of students - successful and underachieving; 2) online survey of students who were asked to compare their own versions of the thesis plan of the article with the version created by artificial intelligence. The results showed that neural networks successfully cope with such tasks by providing an easy-to-understand structure, but the quality of the content remained the subject of discussion among the study participants; 3) analysis of students' essays on the topic ‟Comparative analysis of article plans made by humans and neural networks”. A review of the authors' positions confirmed that many consider the joint creativity of humans and AI to be an advantage; 4) in-depth interviews with students with a high level of competence in dealing with modern technologies. Participants consider it necessary to transfer routine tasks to artificial intelligence, while maintaining the dominant role of humans. The authors conclude that the student environment is gradually adapting to the use of AI and reducing prejudice against new technologies in the educational field.