The Dirty Little AI Secret No One Is Telling Parents
The big AI elephant in the college orientation rooms
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I was talking with a friend recently about her son’s college orientation. I had flashbacks to my time working in higher education. After three years away, through a pandemic and now the AI revolution, it feels like nothing’s changed. Same info overload. Same smiling student workers. Same vague policies that sound more like suggestions.
But when AI came up, it was barely mentioned.
Say it with me here: They didn’t say what now?
AI gets one line in the orientation script
The only thing they said about AI was this: “You have to cite your sources. It’s up to each professor how it can be used.” That was it. One line. Parents got no more. No clear policy. No guidance. No real education.
It was a punt. A can kicked down the road, leaving it up to each instructor to decide how they wanted to implement AI policy in their own classrooms. So, within one institution, you could have AI banned in some classes and fully allowed in others with everything else in between, depending on the professor.
If you don’t think that’s going to give students AI whiplash, I’m not sure how to convince you otherwise.
Now just last year, her son’s high school banned AI completely. Zero tolerance. Her daughter’s art school did the same. Now, months later, her son is going to college. The message has flipped to, “Just cite your sources.” No pause. No step in between to teach anyone how to use AI well.
AI is here. It’s being used every day. But higher education isn’t ready.
The growing disconnect
Students are ahead of the curve. According to the American Psychological Association, seven out of ten teenagers already use AI tools. Mostly for homework help. A recent survey showed about 80% feel comfortable using AI for everyday tasks and for schoolwork. Students are not waiting for permission. They are just using it.
Teachers? That’s quite a different story.
More than half of K-12 teachers say their schools have no official AI policy. Forbes reported that 80% of students have no formal training on how to use AI and 70% want clear guidance.
So guess what, it’s going to be a college AI free-for-all. Some professors ban it. Others ignore it. Most don’t know what to do with it. This leaves students confused. They don’t know what is okay and what isn’t.
This mess causes serious problems. Students and parents get frustrated because the system feels untrustworthy. Some cheat openly, while others find ways to sidestep whatever policies institutions have.
When expectations are fuzzy, academic integrity suffers. Teachers wrestle with standards and the students struggle to meet them.
AI is not a calculator and prompting is not thinking
Let’s get this straight. AI isn’t just a fancy calculator or Google search. It needs to be taught with boundaries. You wouldn’t hand someone car keys and say, “Good luck.” You teach them the basics first and ride along until they are ready to be on their own.
You make sure they pass their driving test. You help them learn the rules of the road and what to do when things go wrong. You don’t just give them a Hummer and hope for the best.
AI is the same. It’s fast and powerful but so easy to use that it lulls people into thinking it doesn’t need instruction. When used irresponsibly, it can do real damage. And now, we’re giving them the keyboard to AI without so much as mandatory training.
Many people think teaching students to use basic prompts is enough. It is not. Anyone can copy and paste a prompt and get an answer. That’s not education. Students need to learn to question AI. To challenge it. To refine their questions. To spot errors and biases. To say no when necessary.
I’ve read multiple articles recently warning that we’ve failed an entire generation when it comes to critical thinking. And now, we’re putting advanced tools in the hands of the next one with no required training and no real preparation.
That should worry us all.
AI is more than a tool for students
After orientation, my friend felt overwhelmed. So she opened ChatGPT, not to write anything, not for research, not to look something up. She spoke to it (yes, actually interacted with it verbally) about her worries and stress. It felt like therapy and helped her emotionally regulate. Like talking to someone who listens.
She's not into the latest technology by any stretch. She still hand-writes in her journal. And yet, she’s using AI to help her process her feelings.
“I’ve never felt so seen and heard,” she said.
That shows how much AI has crept into daily life. Yet many colleges aren’t creating policies and teaching students how to use it. Instead, they are leaving it up to individual instructors. What could possibly go wrong there.
I get it. AI can feel scary. Some worry it will make students lazy or replace teachers. No, AI won’t do your laundry anytime soon. But yes, it can write your essay if you let it. You can use it to create study flashcards, rehearse presentations, simulate job interviews, translate confusing slang in literature, and even journal your thoughts to manage anxiety.
We need to stop fearing AI and start understanding it. It’s a tool like any other. The question is, how do we use it without losing what makes learning valuable?
AI is here to stay but guidance is MIA
AI isn’t going away. It’s part of life now. What we need is better structure. Not bans. Not confusion. Schools must find ways to use AI that help students learn more, not less. Dismantling education systems is not the answer. Building clear policies and teaching strategies is.
If colleges don’t step up, their credibility will collapse. The students won’t be to blame, but they’ll be the ones who pay the price.
This isn’t a future problem. It’s happening now. Treat AI like a fad, and we’ll produce generations who can spit out answers but can’t ask any of the questions that matter. That’s not education. It’s an epic failure.
© 2025 Bette A. Ludwig: All rights reserved
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You are correct.
Great analogies.
It should be a must-read for everyone teaching.
This is great, Bette.
I have nieces in college & a nephew entering his senior year of high school - they all use it all the time for just about everything they can (my kids are out of school & also use it all the time).
It's crazy to me how many legacy institutions/industries are so slow to adopt AI and really make use of it, create policy around it, etc.
The universities have a responsibility to their students to create a standard policy, use case, education, etc.
Hopefully they'll do it sooner rather than later.