Faculty at Slippery Rock University are thought leaders on the topic of artificial intelligence use in the classroom. Nicholas Spina, an associate professor of political science, recently spoke about the rapidly growing influence of AI in education and the challenges it presents for educators and students.
“Even if AI doesn’t progress at all past the technologies available today, it will still be the most important thing to happen to education,” Spina said.
Spina, who delivered a public presentation through the SRU Center for Community Engagement, explained how AI is reshaping the classroom and the ways AI technologies are increasingly factored into everyday academic work and how their widespread adoption affects schools and communities.
According to Spina, the scale and accessibility of AI tools have expanded dramatically in recent years. As these technologies become more common, they are influencing how students research information, complete assignments, and interact with course material. Spina noted that while AI can provide useful educational support at times, it also raises serious concerns about academic integrity, critical thinking, and the role of traditional learning methods.
“New artificial intelligence agents, such as Perplexity’s Comet and ChatGPT’s Atlas, can now, on their own, log into an online college or high school class and take the entire course independently,” Spina said. “If an assignment can be done with just a screen entirely, we have to analyze if we are actually helping students.”
Spina emphasized that the rapid rise of large AI companies has been one of the most significant disruptions to modern education. He explained that the speed at which these technologies are developing has left many educational institutions working to adapt policies, teaching strategies and expectations for students.
Spina’s presentation urged educators and community members to analyze the downsides that AI presents, highlighting the importance of thoughtful discussion about how the technology should or should not be used in academic settings. Spina stressed that understanding AI’s limitations will be essential as schools continue to navigate its presence in the classroom.
He also said that AI compromises the learning process and devalues education itself. Their sheer availability diminishes the perceived integrity of schooling, regardless of whether students actually use them to cheat.
SRU has implemented a task force to explore the use of AI in academic settings and offers tools and resources to faculty through its Center for Teaching and Learning.
