On February 10th and 11th, 2025, political leaders from around the world gathered in Paris, France to discuss the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit. This summit analyzed how AI is becoming increasingly prevalent in modern society, and how it should be handled going forward. The summit proposed regulations on AI that ensure it remains ethical and sustainable and was approved by around 60 countries. However, the United States and the United Kingdom refused to sign the declaration.
Because AI is becoming so big in current times, it is important to look at how these regulatory rules could affect the daily users of AI. Some of AI’s most dedicated users are college students. Students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater have a lot on their plates, and AI helps many lighten their workload. It is becoming increasingly common to hear about AI in the college classroom. Oftentimes professors will have AI in their syllabus, stating their opinions on how AI should be used in the classroom and their expectations for student AI usage. AI is becoming so widespread on campus that courses teaching students how to utilize AI efficiently are starting to be introduced to Whitewater students.
With AI expanding so quickly, there are many different opinions on how AI should be used. Just like the US and UK’s hesitancy to regulate it, many Whitewater students hold the belief that AI should not be regulated. However, there are also many students who use AI, but think that it should be regulated for the better of the future of AI.
“I mostly use [AI] to look for synonyms or get a summary of a certain topic,” said Laura Wright, a student studying environmental science at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. “I don’t think [AI is] a horrible thing in general, it does have its uses, but it should have a sort of limit.” Wright holds the opinion, like many, that AI should have regulations to keep it in control. Innovative technologies are always intimidating due to the uncertainties they present, and those who are hesitant to this new technology would feel more comfortable if it were regulated.
“I use AI mostly to help me clean up some of my writing… I feel like the regulations on it that we have now are just fine,” stated Reese French, an elementary education major at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. French is not alone in her belief that AI should be left untouched. Sam Roffers, an accounting student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, voiced his opinion on AI regulation. “I mainly use AI for when I am stuck on a math problem, and I want to see if it can explain it to me in a way that I can understand… I don’t think [AI] should be highly regulated because that’s how we make breakthroughs,” Roffers said.
Like French and Roffers, a large amount of university students express the concern that too much regulation and pressure on AI can cause its demise by not allowing it to achieve its full potential. It is a difficult debate on whether to regulate or not, and there are valid points for each side of said argument.
Though the future of AI is uncertain, there are clear opinions about the regulation of AI. Even on a small campus such as Whitewater, students have varying opinions as to how AI should be regulated in the future.
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