As an AI-forward institution, the University of Missouri has worked to integrate AI tools into classrooms and curriculum through various initiatives, including the generative AI software Show-Me AI and the AI certificate.

Between Feb. 24 and April 10, Data & Investigation reporters at The Maneater surveyed 411 Mizzou students about their opinions on generative AI in education and their personal usage of AI tools.

Although artificial intelligence tools are beginning to be integrated on campus through specialized courses and Show-Me AI, most of the students polled by The Maneater claim they are largely opposed to this integration. While most students report using AI tools, the majority also expressed resistance towards professors using generative AI tools to create syllabi (60%), assignments (70%) and feedback on coursework (86%).

Senior Charlie Hill, who is studying communications, opposes incorporating generative AI tools into coursework. Hill said he’s been given class assignments that require students to use ChatGPT.

“We’re doing that in, like, senior-level persuasion courses, and I feel like that’s really contradictory because I’m not learning anything,” he said. “I’m just learning how to paste something into an AI bot.”

Jared Schroeder, an associate professor in the Missouri School of Journalism, is a major proponent for AI literacy among his students. He thinks students should be educated about AI so they can make informed decisions about whether they want to use it.

“This, to me, is not saying you have to use AI and it’s good, because I’m not sure it’s good,” Schroeder said. “But it’s at least saying you need to know enough about it that if an employer asks, you can function. You know what they’re talking about.”

Last semester, Schroeder included an assignment in his Communications Law class that required students to write an essay using AI. He removed the assignment from the curriculum after his students expressed their disapproval, but he added that those students felt their AI literacy had improved.

While there is broad skepticism among students towards professors using generative AI for course content, roughly 71% of students polled said they use the programs.

Senior Logan Dick, who is studying chemical engineering, frequently uses generative AI to help with schoolwork and to learn formulas. But he noted that there are drawbacks to heavy AI usage.

“I’m not ever gonna say, ‘Oh, I want to use AI. I think everyone should use AI. It’s great, it’s great. It’s gonna make me smarter,’” Dick said. “No, it’s definitely rotted my brain a little bit and, like, ruined some of my efficiency.”

Almost a quarter (22%) of students polled said they never use generative AI tools for coursework, while roughly 15% said they use them rarely. Around 29% of students polled said they occasionally use generative AI tools for coursework, and the same percentage (29%) said they use AI frequently. A small percentage of students (4%) reported always using AI for coursework.

The Maneater

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