ProCon Debates: Is Artificial Intelligence Good for Society?; Is Homework Beneficial?

ProCon Issues in the News: The number of teens aged 13 to 17 who reported using ChatGPT for schoolwork has doubled in the past year, up from 13 percent in 2023 to 26 percent in 2024, according to a January 15, 2025, Pew Research Center poll. Teens in 11th and 12th grade were most likely (31 percent) to report using the AI software, while 9th and 10th graders (25 percent) and 7th and 8th graders (20 percent) were less likely to use the text generator.

Fifty-four percent of teens believed that using ChatGPT to research new topics is acceptable, while 18 percent believe that using it to write essays is acceptable; 29 percent thought using it to solve math problems was acceptable.

Produced by OpenAI, ChatGPT is software that can answer questions, write letters, and produce reports and essays in conversational language based on the user’s prompts.

Discussion Questions

1. Have you used ChatGPT or another AI text generator? What did you use it for and why?
2. Do you think using AI for homework is OK? Why or why not?
3. What rules would you put in place for using AI such as ChatGPT for schoolwork? Explain your choices.

Source

• Olivia Sidoti, Eugenie Park and Jeffrey Gottfried, “About a Quarter of U.S. Teens Have Used ChatGPT for Schoolwork—Double the Share in 2023” (January 15, 2025), pewresearch.org