Just like you, as a student in 2025, it is probably not surprising that I use genAI tools, such as ChatGPT, almost every day. What has been almost stigmatized in university settings in late 2022, now is an open discussion and a core part of learning and student life. Personally, I use ChatGPT regularly for school work which, I believe, is pretty similar to what my fellow students do. Just to mention a few instances: brainstorming for projects, cleaning up messy notes into structured study summaries, getting quick explanations for terms I don’t fully get, and even asking it to “grade” my drafts against the rubric so I know what to fix. One of my favourite practice, tho, is to feed the lecture notes to ChatGPT and ask for a 10-15 minute podcast of the key takeaways and learning goals. I listen to this during my walk to school and feel like I’ve revised without sitting behind my laptop. It’s fast, helpful, and honestly makes me feel on top of things when I’m at the lecture.
I also use GenAI outside of school. For example, when my parents visited me, I asked it to plan a simple Netherlands tourist route for city trips so they could see the highlights without me stressing over the details. Another instance is that on random weeknights, I’ll throw in three or four ingredients I have at home and get a quick dinner idea that actually works. This saves me a lot of time and money usually, and I also get to try new recipes. However, after our guest lecture on GenAI tools, it really hit me that there are tons of other options out there, but I keep defaulting to ChatGPT. It has really became my comfort zone when it comes to using AI.
But here are some contradictory feelings. I’ve started noticing a reflex: the moment I hit a tough problem, I want to ask the bot before I even try. When I do that too often, my brain feels a bit “sleepy”. Like I’m outsourcing or giving away the hard, creative part. Funnily enough, when I otherwise force myself to work without it, a different feeling kicks in: what if I’m falling behind because everyone else is using AI and shipping better, faster? That AI “FOMO” is real, especially when our standards are also rising with the AI-powered solutions. Anyone else feel that?
As a last thought, sometimes I think about kids, the next generation, who’ll never remember school without GenAI. Lucky them? Maybe. I’m half jealous of the time they’ll save and half protective of the slow, messy struggle that taught me to think. What do we want their first reflex to be: ask or attempt?
