Student Parker Jones criticises college professors for AI hesitancy

Parker Jones, a Cal Poly software engineering student, didn't plan to confront his educators. Nonetheless, that's essentially what he's doing now.

After speaking with over 50 peers about their use of AI resources like ChatGPT, Jones discovered a distinct pattern: students are advancing faster than the educators assigned to instruct them.

His findings on campus present a stark contrast to the prevailing story promoted by universities and frequently by the educators themselves.

While news often centers on cheating, Jones noticed that most students leverage AI for routine, practical purposes, such as a "24/7 office assistant." 

They use it to follow up on questions, clarify unclear lectures, organise tasks, and develop their ideas. It's more about maintaining learning momentum than taking shortcuts, according to conclusions he recently shared on OpenAI's ChatGPT for Education blog.

Despite how common and accepted this behavior has become, numerous professors remain unsure, quiet, or even suspicious, says Jones, a former participant in OpenAI's student lab program, which gathers undergraduates to discuss how they're implementing ChatGPT.

"The most usual response is not discussing it," he mentioned in a recent interview.

When AI is acknowledged, it frequently has a negative tone. This gap results in an odd scenario where students rely on tools that they believe are somewhat taboo to discuss, he explained.

For Jones, the main issue isn't AI misuse but rather institutional stagnation. He anticipated that computer science teachers, particularly, would take the initiative. However, he found many lagging, waiting for more explicit guidelines or further research before incorporating AI into their education methods.

"There's a tendency within academia to wait to perfect things. While that's well-meaning," he remarked, "it's also causing us to miss out on the current opportunity."

Cal Poly's Response

Cal Poly representative Matt Lazier stated that the institution offers an AI and machine learning track within its computer science and software engineering program, backed by growing projects from the Noyce School of Applied Computing.

This includes a forthcoming Nvidia-assisted Advanced AI Factory and a new data science degree starting in Fall 2027. Events like PolyPrompt also support practical AI learning.

AI is also incorporated across various fields, extracurricular activities, and other initiatives, providing students with widespread, real-world learning of AI technologies and ethics, he stated.

Still, Jones's apprehensions were mirrored recently in another conversation I had with Kiran Maya Sheikh, who completed her computer science studies at UC Irvine in June 2025. 

Despite learning programming languages and other software skills, AI tools weren't part of her formal education.

Recent graduates have voiced distinct challenges they encounter in the tech job market, with cases such as AI altering the workplace.