By Maya Schaefer

It’s no question that AI has grown in popularity in the past few years. I remember when I first heard a friend mention how he used ChatGPT during our sophomore year to help him write a paper. I figured it was probably a one-time thing to help him out during a busy week. As the months went on, I heard more and more people talking about the different ways they were using ChatGPT to help them in school.

Upon its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT amassed one million users in its first five days. By August 2024, ChatGPT reported having more than 200 million weekly active users, according to Axios. OneTwentySeven looked at AI use on Denison’s campus in January 2024 and I’m curious to see if Denisonians’ usage of AI has changed since then. Do they match the trajectory of AI use that we’re seeing globally? From an academic perspective, are students in certain majors more likely to use AI than others?

In March 2024 and October 2024 surveys, we asked nearly 500 students in each survey about their specific AI usage. Students could select as many categories that applied to their usage: background research, summarizing reading, writing a paper, editing a paper, helping with computer code, or something else. For the figure below, I just added them up.

In March, most students reported using AI for one task (37%) or no tasks at all (31%). That means nearly a third reported using it for two or more tasks. In October, those numbers stayed almost exactly the same. So, AI use hasn’t changed much across the board, but what about within majors?

While most majors used AI for zero to one tasks, there are some sizable differences between divisions of the college that hinge on the inclusion of science. In March, 50% of students whose major was undecided reported using AI for one task. Arts majors had the lowest percentage of AI use for two or more tasks, while science majors and interdisciplinary majors had the highest percentage for two or more tasks. Maybe work in the arts and humanities simply have fewer tasks that can stand to be automated.

By October, social science and interdisciplinary majors reported using AI for more activities, science majors pretty much stayed the same, while humanities, arts, and undecided majors’ usage decreased. What does this tell us? An increase in usage could be correlated with the growth of AI in general. As new programs emerge from big tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Meta, students could simply be realizing more of the benefits and resources chatbots like ChatGPT have to offer. On the other hand, many factors could be attributed to a decrease in usage. Students could be enrolling in different types of classes that they may not need assistance in or they could have simply lost interest in AI after its initial popularity. Denison’s faculty could have adjusted assignments to prevent AI usage, as well. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that AI use on the Hill has fluctuated between March and October within majors.

Let’s take a look at the specific tasks students in each major division are using AI for. In March, every major except for interdisciplinary used AI the most for summarizing readings. The arts division had the highest percentage of students using AI to write a paper which could suggest that AI was being used for assignments that generally fall out of a major’s general category of assignments. On the other hand, the data also shows students using the tool for tasks that are typical for their major. Science students’ second most popular task for AI was background research, which falls in line with that division’s typical assignments.

In October, there was an increase in using AI for background research and an overall decrease in using AI to write a paper. Notably, arts students, who were the largest percentage of AI users for writing a paper in March, dropped to nearly zero by October.

Overall, the data shows a variety of fluctuations in AI tasks between March and October. Denisonians seem to use AI for smaller tasks, like background research, and much less in bigger, more controversial tasks, like writing a paper. Regardless of the type of usage, Denison students across majors have begun reaping the benefits of generative AI. We will continue to track AI usage on campus over time, especially as new programs are created and new methods to detect them are implemented.

Maya Schaefer is a senior Politics and Public Affairs major with a Data for Political Research minor. She is avidly searching for post-grad opportunities to avoid being a babysitter for the rest of her life.