Why Flawed AI Tools Are Turning AI into a Teacher vs. Student Conversation

AI tools are creating a wider gap between teachers and students in classrooms. A recent study shows that student-teacher connections have hit a historic low, with only 22 percent of students believing that their teachers understand their lives beyond school walls ^[1]. Unreliable AI detection systems and poor technology implementation have exacerbated this disconnect. For example, the diplomas of students at Texas A&M University-Commerce were temporarily withheld because of widespread ChatGPT accusations  ^[2]. 

Problematic AI tools have turned educational technology from a potential ally into a source of conflict. This article explores why AI is important in education and offers solutions that can help teachers and students move forward together in the age of AI.

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Bad AI Tools Feel Like Bad School Wi-Fi

Imagine a school not offering access to Wi-Fi in 2025. It is deemed a necessity. When Wi-Fi connectivity has issues, the system is down, it’s chaos, and it must be fixed as soon as possible. Problematic AI tools create barriers in education, much like unreliable school Wi-Fi that crashes at the worst possible moments. Soon enough, institutions not offering AI access will be seen as behind and not up-to-date with basic technological accessibility. This technological gap then becomes an inconvenience and disadvantage to students.

Frustration for Everyone

Unreliable AI tools can affect everyone in several ways:

• Teachers waste valuable class time looking for new reliable tools or policing the students
• Students worry about their work getting wrongly flagged
• Administrative staff grapple with slow bureaucracy and approval of new technologies
• Parents receive mixed messages about academic integrity and AI policies

A weak internet connection disrupts the natural flow of virtual learning and accessibility, and poorly designed AI tools do the same to education. These disruptions hurt immediate classroom activities and can reduce students' confidence in reaching long-term educational goals without access to reliable tools.

The Need for Reliability

With an abundance of choices regarding which tools to use, institutions need reliable systems that will help them do their job without creating new problems. This means investing in well-tested, high-performing tools and providing proper training for everyone. Schools must focus on reliability and effectiveness before adopting new technologies and help AI become an educational asset rather than a source of disruption.

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The Real Problem with AI Detectors: Damaged Trust between Students and Teachers

With the rise of AI detection tools that mistake human writing for AI-generated content, many students end up on academic probation or lose scholarships because of these tools. Marley Stevens, a University of North Georgia student’s case demonstrates this reality; she use Grammarly to made edit to her homework and was put on academic probation.

The emotional toll is heavy, especially when students have to prove their honesty against a computer's judgment. These unfortunate events can damage student-teacher relationships.

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Unreliable Technology

Tools like AI detection systems tend to flag well-laid-out sentences and advanced vocabulary as AI-generated content. AI-generated content will almost always be well-laid out and structured, just like a student’s work on an important assignment they worked hard on. In these cases, good writers are at a higher risk of getting penalized. The AI detector systems can quickly be proven false by simply testing the same text on different AI detector platforms. Here are a few examples of an AI-generated poem checked on the current top AI detectors:

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The AI generated poem was labeled as human-written content. The answer is simple and clear: AI detectors are not accurate and should not determine whether or not a student is receiving their diploma, scholarship, or passing a test. Schools that depend on these broken systems make students doubt their abilities and add a layer of stress to their already stressful lives.

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The Backlash: AI as a Source of Punishment

Most schools make the mistake of using AI tools to monitor student academic work. This creates an atmosphere where someone is always watching. Teachers check AI detection results before grading papers. Students feel watched, which leads them to censor themselves and become less creative in their work. Marley Stevens, the student from North Georgia, case demonstrates this reality; she lost her scholarship after an AI detector wrongly claimed that her work came from a machine, which changed her academic path ^[3].

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Key Takeaway: (Almost all) Students and Teachers have the Same Goals

The vast majority of students and teachers want the same thing—a better education in a fair learning environment. Students need access to quality learning, and instructors want to provide it. It’s important to work with students to understand their wants, needs, and preferences. From our experience speaking with thousands of instructors about their current concerns with AI in education, we’ve learned that educators are looking for solutions that prioritize learning, promote fairness, and use AI responsibly in the classroom.

To be able to provide that for both instructors and students, schools need to:

• Create a trusting environment
• Provide ethical and clear policies
• Provide better tools and training

With proper tools, clear policies and a trusting environment where everybody’s work is valued, everyone in the educational system can feel comfortable and not worried about the new technology. Just as calculators and the internet were once new, AI is now the new thing. With time, openness and clarity, trust can be built in this new technology, benefiting everyone in the education sector.

Educational leaders can explore Rumi's testimonials to see how proper AI policies build confidence and trust in their schools.