Student Perspectives on the Benefits and Risks of AI in Education

Griffin Pitts; Viktoria Medvedeva Marcus; Sanaz Motamedi

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: Computers in Education Division (COED) Track 2.A
Tagged Division: Computers in Education Division (COED)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 16
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/57693

Paper Authors

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Griffin Pitts University of Florida

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Griffin Pitts is an undergraduate computer science student with the University of Florida’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. As a student, Griffin conducts research within multiple disciplines, investigating how individuals interact with, adopt, and trust artificial intelligence in educational settings. He has been awarded by the University of Florida’s Center for Undergraduate Research and intends on attending graduate school at North Carolina State University in the upcoming year.

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Viktoria Medvedeva Marcus University of Florida

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Viktoria Marcus is an undergraduate student at the University of Florida, studying Industrial and Systems Engineering, with a concentration in Human Systems. Her research interests include human-technology interaction and technology acceptance in automation, online learning, and artificial intelligence.

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Sanaz Motamedi University of Florida orcid.org/0000-0002-5389-1017

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Dr. Motamedi is an Assistant Research Professor at Penn State University, specializing in human behavior modeling. Her research leverages mixed-methods approaches to explore human-automation interactions, with a focus on their applications in system design across education, healthcare, and transportation. Dr. Motamedi’s work aims to deepen our understanding of how humans interact with automated systems, influencing the development of safer, more efficient technologies and processes.

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Abstract

The use of chatbots equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) in educational settings has increased in recent years, showing potential to support teaching and learning. However, the adoption of these technologies has raised concerns about their impact on academic integrity, students' ability to problem-solve independently, and potential underlying biases. Although previous studies have explored the benefits and risks of AI chatbots in education, this study specifically focuses on understanding students' perspectives and experiences with these tools. For this purpose, a survey was conducted at a large public university in the United States to understand students’ views on AI chatbots in educational settings. A total of 262 responses were collected from undergraduate students. Through thematic analysis, the students' responses regarding their perceived benefits and risks of AI chatbots in education were identified and categorized into themes.

The results reveal several benefits identified by the students, with feedback and study support, instruction capabilities, and access to information being the most cited. The primary concerns included risks to academic integrity, accuracy of information, loss of critical thinking skills, and the potential development of overreliance. Additional concerns emerged regarding ethical considerations such as data privacy, system bias, environmental impact, and preservation of human elements in education.

While student perceptions align with previously discussed benefits of AI in education, they show heightened concerns about distinguishing between human and AI-generated work, alongside ethical issues of data privacy, system bias, and environmental impact. The findings suggest important considerations for implementing AI chatbots in educational settings. To address students' concerns regarding academic integrity and information reliability, institutions can establish clear policies regarding AI use and develop curriculum around AI literacy. With these in place, practitioners can effectively develop and implement educational systems that leverage AI's potential in areas such as immediate feedback and personalized learning support. This approach can enhance the quality of students' educational experiences while preserving the integrity of the learning process with AI.

Citation
Format

Pitts, G., & Marcus, V. M., & Motamedi, S. (2025, June), Student Perspectives on the Benefits and Risks of AI in Education Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/57693

TY - CPAPER
AB - The use of chatbots equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) in educational settings has increased in recent years, showing potential to support teaching and learning. However, the adoption of these technologies has raised concerns about their impact on academic integrity, students&#39; ability to problem-solve independently, and potential underlying biases. Although previous studies have explored the benefits and risks of AI chatbots in education, this study specifically focuses on understanding students&#39; perspectives and experiences with these tools. For this purpose, a survey was conducted at a large public university in the United States to understand students’ views on AI chatbots in educational settings. A total of 262 responses were collected from undergraduate students. Through thematic analysis, the students&#39; responses regarding their perceived benefits and risks of AI chatbots in education were identified and categorized into themes.

The results reveal several benefits identified by the students, with feedback and study support, instruction capabilities, and access to information being the most cited. The primary concerns included risks to academic integrity, accuracy of information, loss of critical thinking skills, and the potential development of overreliance. Additional concerns emerged regarding ethical considerations such as data privacy, system bias, environmental impact, and preservation of human elements in education.

While student perceptions align with previously discussed benefits of AI in education, they show heightened concerns about distinguishing between human and AI-generated work, alongside ethical issues of data privacy, system bias, and environmental impact. The findings suggest important considerations for implementing AI chatbots in educational settings. To address students&#39; concerns regarding academic integrity and information reliability, institutions can establish clear policies regarding AI use and develop curriculum around AI literacy. With these in place, practitioners can effectively develop and implement educational systems that leverage AI&#39;s potential in areas such as immediate feedback and personalized learning support. This approach can enhance the quality of students&#39; educational experiences while preserving the integrity of the learning process with AI.
AU - Griffin Pitts
AU - Viktoria Medvedeva Marcus
AU - Sanaz Motamedi
CY - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DA - 2025/06/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Student Perspectives on the Benefits and Risks of AI in Education
UR - https://peer.asee.org/57693
ER -