The topic of artificial intelligence is so multifaceted and fascinating that opinions vary wildly, and self-proclaimed AI experts (and haters alike) can be found in every corner of the country. As a TalTech master’s student, I have experienced both the time before the widespread use of AI and the era in which AI has fully seeped into academic life. It is present in lectures, practical sessions, and especially during those anxious late-night hours when assignment deadlines are breathing down your neck. But how do we actually use it, and more importantly, does it make us smarter or simply lazier?
AI as Added Value
The greatest value AI offers me is as a personal learning assistant. We have all been in lectures where some complicated concept or formula remains unclear. Raising your hand in a large auditorium and asking what feels like a stupid question can be intimidating. With AI, that fear disappears. I can ask artificial intelligence to explain the principles of quantum computing through five different analogies or generate ten practice exercises until the topic finally clicks. It provides a safe environment for experimenting and making mistakes, which is essential for learning.
The use of AI in programming, for example, has become indispensable. AI can quickly identify that one annoying syntax error that, just a few years ago, might have taken hours to find while exhausted. At the time of writing this article, Claude Code is already so powerful that it can generate the foundational code for a functioning information system and perform tasks that IT students could only dream about a few years ago.
In academic writing, AI helps refine awkward sentences, catch overlooked spelling mistakes, or suggest an essay structure on which a student can begin building content. AI can also serve as an excellent co-supervisor, reducing both the supervisor’s workload and the student’s effort in writing and waiting for feedback. While working on a thesis, a student can use numerous AI prompts to receive immediate and direct feedback before the work even reaches the supervisor, who can then focus on the substantive clarity of the thesis. We have already implemented this successfully at university today, and I hope this practice reaches more supervisors and graduates in the future.
Essentially, effective use of AI helps eliminate tedious and time-consuming routines so that we can focus on what truly matters: understanding logic, building connections, and developing critical thinking.
AI as a Driver of Laziness
Of course, artificial intelligence also has its downsides, and it is easy to fall into their trap. I believe many students have felt tempted to let AI do most of the work and then submit the result directly to the lecturer without thorough review. Some students blindly copy AI-generated code without understanding what it actually does. Others submit written assignments that are entirely created by AI: linguistically polished, yet empty and soulless in substance. AI is an excellent language model, but it can still confidently present calculations that are completely wrong or cite sources that do not actually exist. Those who fail to verify lose out — not only in points, but also in the opportunity to genuinely learn something. The greatest danger is excessive trust.
The use of artificial intelligence also requires self-discipline and motivation. If AI can generate a strong result within minutes, why should a student spend hours deeply researching a topic? There is a danger that students’ focus shifts away from learning and development toward simply obtaining grades and degrees. It is a dangerous shortcut, and what is worrying is that the final result may appear perfectly acceptable to an outside observer, even though actual learning never took place. I believe outcome-based education may play an important role in this trend, where completing a course depends solely on the final result rather than the broader learning process. This is not only an AI problem — artificial intelligence simply makes this contradiction more visible and increases the urgency of addressing it.
The Future with Artificial Intelligence
It is clear that simply banning artificial intelligence is pointless. It is a tool that is here to stay, and we must learn to use it responsibly. Responsibility lies with both students and lecturers. We, as students, must develop critical thinking so that we use AI as an assistant to expand and improve our ideas rather than replace them. We must understand that the most important part of attending university is not the final outcome, but the journey itself: not merely obtaining a degree, but learning and experiencing university life.
At the same time, teaching methods must evolve with the times. This is not easy during an era filled with uncertainty and constant change. Nevertheless, it increasingly seems that our entire educational approach must shift from outcome-based learning toward process-based learning: instead of assessing only the final result, we should evaluate the learning process itself. There are still alternatives today, but already tomorrow every student may carry smart glasses, pens, water bottles, or other devices capable of making even handwritten paper exams easy to pass successfully. I believe we all need to take a serious look at ourselves and determine what truly matters in the learning process — whether it is getting a top grade or gaining knowledge and practicing skills that can later be applied in everyday life.
We are living in an exciting time in which we are forced to choose whether to trade our human intelligence for artificial intelligence or use AI to amplify our own skills and knowledge. At a time when the use of artificial intelligence is becoming an expectation in the workplace as well, it is important for both lecturers and students to understand that AI is not going anywhere and is likely still in its infancy. I believe this is the perfect moment to experiment with new learning methods and see just how far we can go with the help of artificial intelligence.