When faced with a task, one in three workers in 2024 has been found to lean on Artificial Intelligence like a sailor to a siren. As AI becomes more commonplace in day-to-day life, reliance on AI increases, replacing individual art and work. The surge in AI usage began most clearly in 2023, reaching a new high with every update or flashy addition. According to a 2025 survey, about 60% of workers use AI to draft emails, summarize content, write, research, and more. Now, in the new year, these numbers will only continue to grow as AI becomes part of personal life. 
Schools, in particular, have been hit hard by the rise of AI dependence. It’s easy for students to open a new tab and type their homework question into a helpful chat box. Really, cheating has never been easier, or more tempting, than now. Snapchat AI, in particular, allows quick answers during a test if a confused student can keep their phone hidden while they search. Senior Evelyn Valencia of Santiago High School expresses, “I don’t like it, but in desperate times, I kinda need it.” She tries to keep it from becoming a regular tool in her work. Among teachers, AI can really go either way on the helpful spectrum. Many teachers use AI in their own work, whether for grading or drafting lesson plans. However, phones are still a threat to classroom integrity. Language Arts teacher Melissa Brasington says, “It worries me, I don’t think it can be completely trusted. I worry that my students are allowing AI to think for them.”
Zooming out of school and workplaces, though, how is artificial intelligence influencing home and personal lives? A parent of Santiago High School recounts an experience with an Amazon AI assistant regarding a missing product. “It didn’t understand my problem, and it wouldn’t get me a real person to help.” As has become more clear over time, AI can sometimes be just plain wrong. It doesn’t have all the answers and may misunderstand inquiries. Like a National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) chatbot named Tessa, in 2024, giving incorrect and even harmful advice to customers about their health. In fact, in March of 2025, a study found that nearly 60 percent of more complex questions were answered incorrectly, yet with the same level of confidence as correct answers.
Similarly, AI has become accustomed to making up sources. Newspapers like the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Chicago Sun-Times posted a summer reading list last May, composed of more than ten fake books invented by an AI. Already, artificial intelligence is often used to produce false work in writing, art, music, and beyond, and it is becoming increasingly convincing over time. Nkemjika Udhiri, a junior at Santiago, thinks AI is “not the best. I feel like it takes from the innovation of human minds.”
Artificial Intelligence is meant to be an assistant, not a replacement, and to avoid that crossover, it’s safer to use AI for guidance and research questions rather than for an entire essay. AI use may already be out of control, but we can reduce our dependence on bots and artificial intelligence and return to using our own brainpower. Work ethic and critical thinking are difficult to achieve when we get used to letting something else do all the heavy lifting for us.
