Masterman’s AI Ban

“AI is like an addictive drug that our generation is getting their education stolen by unknowingly.” A quote given by a junior on a Google Form when asked about students’ opinion on AI and the ban. Recently, Masterman has implemented a complete no-tolerance policy for any use of artificial intelligence. The ban was administered due to an excess use of platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others in schools all over the globe. A report written by Microsoft states, “Global adoption of artificial intelligence continued to rise in the second half of 2025, increasing by 1.2 percentage points compared to the first half of the year, with roughly one in six people worldwide now using generative AI tools, remarkable progress for a technology that only recently entered mainstream use.” AI usage is growing rapidly, taking away traditional learning from students and stopping them from reaching their full capabilities as a human. 

In an interview with English Literature teacher, Mr. Kamison, he gave his insight by answering questions asked about the use of AI in schools and daily life. In his response, Kamison refers to AI as “fancified auto-complete,” and explains that, “No matter how much money, no matter how much energy is put into this, it will never, ever reach human intelligence because human intelligence is its own thing, and it can not be replicated.” Kamison’s words express his emotions surrounding the use of AI and he makes it clear that it is nothing more than a "marketing ploy” that is trying to take away from the education of not just the students at Masterman, but people all over the world. Along with Mr. Kamison, another English teacher, Ms. Santana, was also interviewed about her opinion on artificial intelligence. When asked,“Do you think AI is more of a threat or a tool to students?” Ms. Santana related her response to her own experience from before AI was an option in education. “I had to learn how to spell. I had to learn how to write using specific grammar rules, and when we don’t give kids the opportunity to think about their choices when writing, it is a disservice to not only them as writers, but to us as teachers aswell.” Ms. Santana’s understanding of the disservices AI poses to both students and teachers makes it clear just how naive most people are to the damages AI is doing to us and everything around us. Both Mr. Kamison and Ms. Santana’s interviews clearly show that AI is not just a platform, but it is a machine that is slowly but surely taking the opportunity of education away from students bit by bit, day by day.

When Masterman High School students were asked their opinions about AI and the ban via Google Form, the answers were intriguing. When asked, “If you could explain Ai's role in education in one word or short phrase, how would you?”,the answers were very similar. Some phrases used were “glorified plagiarism,” “addictive,” and  “counterintuitive.” Ai is clearly impacting our classes, and the ban is showing to be a topic that is agreed upon all over the school building.