USING AI WISELY: HOW HUMANS CAN BALANCE TECHNOLOGY AND SKILLS

Balancing AI with human creativity ensures that technology becomes a partner in learning, enhancing the student’s education, rather than acting as a shortcut that weakens and replaces meaningful growth. 

Written by: Nesrin Del Rosario

Layout by: Cassandra Angeles

October 14, 2025 | 7:30 PM

Today, AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini (formerly known as Bard), and Meta AI are becoming increasingly common in schools and in daily life. While some students often rely on AI to complete their tasks, others avoid it completely. 

But does AI make learning easier, or does it make students more dependent? The real challenge, however, is not whether to use AI or not, but to learn how to balance the use of AI while still developing human skills.

Artificial intelligence: What it is and how it works

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science designed to mimic human intelligence. It works by processing huge amounts of data, recognizing patterns, and then producing an output- such as answering questions, creating an image, and generating ideas based on prompts. Unlike a human brain that can quickly grasp meaning from limited examples and context, AI typically requires thousands of data points to “learn” a single concept, and would require prompts or instructions from human intelligence to function effectively (Michigan Technological University, 2025).

In a student’s world, AI tools can be used in many helpful ways. For example, ChatGPT can generate ideas and summarize complex texts; Bard, now known as Gemini, can be used to clarify difficult topics and create AI-generated images. Grammarly and Quillbot are used to check grammar, tone, and writing styles. Duolingo is an AI application used by many to learn languages through personalized lessons. Other tools, such as Photomath, are used to aid students in solving math and science problems through step-by-step solutions. Canva’s AI tools, such as Magic Write and Text-to-Image AI, are used to assist in creating elements for presentations, school projects, and such. These are just a few of the rapidly evolving tools and applications powered by AI that are widely used in many fields, which could offer development and support if used accurately (Embracing Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom, 2023b).

The Risk of Overreliance on AI 

AI can be powerful, but excessive dependence may hinder the development of students’ essential skills, such as critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. For example, if a student uses an AI to write an entire essay, their work’s output is complete and grammatically correct, but the student will not fully understand the topic, and their academic growth relies solely on the use of AI. 

A global survey from the Digital Education Council report shows that more than half of students worldwide have already used AI in some form, highlighting how quickly it’s becoming part of learning (What Students Want: Key Results From DEC Global AI Student Survey 2024, n.d.). However, A 2023 study published in Education and Information Technologies (Scoffield, 2023) says that heavy reliance on AI can also cause shallow learning, where students memorize answers without understanding connections. Worse, AI can provide outdated or incorrect facts, so copying its output without thinking can lead to errors and missed opportunities to build real knowledge. Over time, this habitual use of AI leads to laziness and weakens skills that the brain naturally develops, such as problem-solving and originality.      

The Problem with Avoiding AI

On the other hand, some students refuse to use AI, believing that using it is cheating, and would refuse to use it at all. However, ignoring AI means falling behind in digital literacy and missing out on tools that can make studying easier and useful for future workloads. Many AI applications are used to enhance growth if used correctly. For instance, ChatGPT can quickly explain a science topic in simpler words, while Meta’s AI image tools can create helpful visuals for school projects. Refusing to use them can make tasks slower and harder than they need to be. The key is to use them as learning enhancement tools, but never as a replacement for effort. 

Our Brains can create unique ideas from past experiences, but may take time to organize them.

Example: A student writing a story about friendship might remember a fight they had with a childhood friend, then use those emotions to create a realistic and heartfelt scene. This process makes the work original, but it often takes time to recall memories and organize them into clear writing.

AI (like Bard or Bing AI) can summarize or organize large amounts of information in seconds, but struggles to generate original ideas.

Example: If a teacher assigns a 20-page reading on climate change, AI can quickly create a short summary or outline the main points in just a few seconds. However, it cannot add personal feelings or create an entirely new perspective the way a human can.

This means AI is faster in processing information, while humans are stronger in creativity and context. For instance, AI can instantly generate a list of pros and cons about technology. Still, only a human can connect it to their own experience, like how technology affects their family or school life.

How to Use AI Efficiently

The smartest way to use AI is as a partner, not a replacement. 

For example:

Outlining: Ask AI to generate an outline for an essay, but fill in your explanations and ideas yourself. 

Summarizing: Use AI to summarize and break down long texts, but still fact-check and confirm the content through textbooks and reliable sources. 

Studying: Use AI to simplify and break down topics and test your understanding through practice questions.

The Power of the Prompt 

The key difference is how a student generates prompts for AI matters. 

Asking: “Make my essay” removes efforts and learning 

Asking: “explain renewable energy in simple words” helps the student actually learn and enhance a deeper understanding of the topic.

In short, the brain provides creativity and understanding, while AI provides speed and structure. It can be used as a support, but exercising analysis, originality, creativity, and critical thinking are still required. 

Examples of AI We Use and How to Use Them Well

Why Balance Matters

Overusing AI leads to weaker human skills, while avoiding AI leads to missed opportunities. However, balancing both allows students to get the best of both: the efficiency of AI and the creativity of the human brain. As technology advances in this new generation, it is an essential skill for the future to work alongside AI tools rather than being replaced by them. Our brain uses only about 20 watts of energy and learns quickly from small experiences, and adapts well in new situations (Learning From the Brain to Make AI More Energy-efficient, n.d.). While AI consumes massive power during training, it learns slowly through data, but performs specific tasks like calculations, translations, or pattern recognition far faster than any human (Zhai et al., 2024). This is why balance is important—AI is excellent for speed and data, while humans excel in adaptability and meaning.

After all, AI is not here to replace humans—it is here to assist. Tools like ChatGPT, Bard, and Meta AI can make studying faster and easier, but they should never replace human creativity, originality, and critical thinking. The real challenge is not whether we should use AI, but how we can use it in the smartest way possible.