As someone who has moved across countries in pursuit of high-quality education, I’ve always placed learning and personal growth at the center of my life decisions. Education is something I deeply care about, and I constantly keep an eye on developments and innovations in the field.
The first major digital disruption that I personally experienced was the launch of Coursera, which is a platform where leading universities from around the world publish their courses so that anyone with internet access can learn from the comfort of home for a manageable fee. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Coursera made all its courses free for university students. I distinctly remember the joy of enrolling in subjects I had always wanted to study but never had the chance to.
The second wave of disruption came with the rise of Generative AI. Unlike online learning platforms, this wave has sparked more controversy. A recent study from MIT suggests that frequent use of tools like ChatGPT might reduce critical thinking skills over time (Chow, 2025). Yet, I would argue that on a global scale, the benefits far outweigh the downsides. Generative AI can improve social mobility in the education field, meaning students that don’t have access to top tutoring still have a shot at progressing in their studies.
I’ve seen this happening firsthand. In high school, I focused on subjects I understood best. For example, I was exceling in English because I had a very good teacher and thanks to my parents, who are economists, I was getting helps with maths and statistics. Even though I was also curious about physics and chemistry, I had no one to guide me, so I ruled out any future in life sciences. Years later, during a work placement in a healthcare company, I had to read and analyze scientific papers as a part of my responsibilities, and I needed to understand how drugs work on a molecular level. With ChatGPT by my side and asking questions like “explain TNF blockers in a beginner-friendly way”, I finally grasped the materials that once felt indigestible. It made me wonder how different my path might have been if I’d had this tool earlier.
Today, GenAI gives me the confidence to take complex classes, since I know I have a helper by my side. But also assisting with simple routine tasks, which would have otherwise taken a lot of time (Parrack, 2025). Just like any tool, if used unconsciously, it can disengage students and have an overall negative effect on learning. However, various studies have also claimed that ChatGPT can improve students’ learning performance and perception (Wang & Fan, 2025). In my case, it has definitely empowered me to go beyond my comfort zone and approach unfamiliar subjects with curiosity, rather than with fear.
Sources:
Chow, A. R. (2025, June 23). ChatGPT may be eroding critical thinking skills, according to a new MIT study. TIME. https://time.com/7295195/ai-chatgpt-google-learning-school/
Parrack, D. (2025, September 4). 20 menial tasks ChatGPT handles in seconds, saving you hours. PCWorld. https://www.pcworld.com/article/2799246/20-menial-tasks-chatgpt-handles-in-seconds-saving-you-hours.html
Wang, J., & Fan, W. (2025). The effect of ChatGPT on students’ learning performance, learning perception, and higher-order thinking: insights from a meta-analysis. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04787-y
Very relatable and well-writen reflection. I appreciate how you connect your personal learning journey with broader developments in digital education. The comparison between Coursera’s democratization of access and the potential of Generative AI to enhance social mobility is especially insightful, I’ve used Coursera a lot as well on tech subjects and AI.
Your example about revisiting complex scientific topics with the help of ChatGPT really highlights what’s most promising about AI in education, not replacing learning, but reopening doors of information that might have felt closed before when only able to get information through books or wikipedia. I also agree that responsible use is key; AI can either deepen understanding or discourage critical thinking, depending on how we engage with it.