Hailey Fagaragan

Cracking the Code with AI

07 May 2024

I. Introduction

Artificial intelligence has become, for the most part, a valuable tool in my higher level education. It has entered

II. Personal Experience with AI:

I have used AI in class this semester in the following areas:

  1. Experience WODs e.g. E18

The video tutorials provided were very helpful, so there was no need for me to use AI in this situation. Watching the videos back several times were found to be more useful.

  1. In-class Practice WODs

I did not use AI for this scenario. If I couldn’t finish the practice WODs, I would wait to see how my instructor completed it and asked questions if I needed to.

  1. In-class WODs

Because of the time limit on graded WODs, I hardly ever used ChatGPT to guide me through the steps. I learned from practice WODs that using AI to aid me in these types of workouts don’t help as much. If I did use AI during WODs, it was to check why my code wasn’t running or to catch any errors.

  1. Essays

In other classes, I have used AI to help me create outlines for my essays as well as brainstorming small things like finding titles that summarize the main idea while also being creative.

  1. Final project

I have used AI many times to guide me through certain aspects of my final project. As a group, we used ChatGPT to brainstorm creative team names and project titles that were memorable. I also personally used AI to help with the backend for some of my codes. If a page was crashing, and I couldn’t figure out why, I would ask ChatGPT to list reasons why things are going wrong.

  1. Learning a concept / tutorial

A lot of the time, I would used AI to explain key concepts of the course in simpler terms. Using it this way, I am able to grasp key concepts without having to go through pages of readings or hours of video tutorials.

  1. Answering a question in class or in Discord

I have never used Artificial Intelligence to answer or ask a question in class or Discord.

  1. Asking or answering a smart-question

I can’t say that I used AI to ask or answer a smart-question. Our instructors were very clear on how to format our questions and how to answer other people’s questions.

  1. Coding example e.g. “give an example of using Underscore .pluck”

I did find myself on many occasions to ask ChatGPT to give examples on how certain codes work. In the early days of using JavaScript, I would ask for examples on how to use certain Underscore functions. This was also the case when learning how to use HTML and CSS.

  1. Explaining code

I would often use AI to explain each line of code so I know how to use specific things, like certain functions, that can be useful in other assignments. I would often go to ChatGPT and insert a code and have it explain each line using the most basic terms as possible. For the most part, I have learned a lot using AI this way.

  1. Writing code

I try not to use AI to write code for me as it often writes code that doesn’t meet the criteria and expectations that are needed for class. However, I do use it to show some examples on how to use certain functions. While we were learning how to use Underscore, I would ask ChatGPT to give basic scenarios for when certain functions are useful. This would help me with assignments and WODs.

  1. Documenting code

I have never used Artificial Intelligence for documenting code.

  1. Quality assurance

I often used AI to check for bugs or ESLint errors. I would insert entire codes to ChatGPT and ask why my codes isn’t compiling. So far, I have been able to catch errors by using AI.

  1. Other uses in ICS 314 not listed above

III. Impact on Learning and Understanding:

I try to keep AI as a postive influence on my learning experience. To do this, I try not to rely too much on it and only utilise it when necessary, like when I need a simple clarification on something or when I need a simple coding example to understand how a concept works in different situations. I have run into the same problem too many times of heavily relying on ChatGPT to give me the right answers for other classes. This as a result has negatively impacted my learning. For someone studying computer science, I would never want to rely on the use of AI for both my CS classes and other real world situations.

IV. Practical Applications:

V. Challenges and Opportunities:

It’s important to note that Artificial Intelligence is still very young and often makes mistakes. I noticed this firsthand when trying to complete some homework for other classes. For practice WODs, and even the final project, I would look to ChatGPT, to write code that would satisfy the prompt. It would often return codes that would cause my application to crash. I would have to tweak or add more information to the prompt to guide ChatGPT in the direction I want it to go in. A few times, it returned codes worthy of use, but most times it did not. Though I do believe that as software engineers and computer science majors, we should not rely too heavily on AI, I think that it would be an amazing tool that can improve efficiency. It can be a great tool to use for bug checks and improve code quality by checking for ESLint errors.

VI. Comparative Analysis:

Traditional teaching methods can often be lecture, textbook, and project heavy. Which is where I think we lose engagement from students. AI can get rid of these problems by offering a more personalized teaching method that gears more toward individual learning styles. Because of this personalized leaarning experience, students can also get instant feedback on certain things instead of relying on practical assignments to develop their skills and waiting for feedback from their instructors.

VII. Future Considerations:

Though I look forward to seeing AI becoming a prominent tool in software engineering, I am afraid that people are becoming too reliant on it. Not only does software engineering take time to learn, I also have found it very rewarding to be able to complete coding tasks without the use of Artificial Intelligence. Though I believe that AI could enhance our software engineering skills, it’s important to __

VIII. Conclusion:

I have not been using AI for long, but I see it having a long future in my studies and beyond. For other classes, I have made the mistake of relying on it heavily to complete assignments that it affected my grades. However, I gain the most valuable experiences when using AI as an aid in my education. For example, using ChatGPT to explain key concepts, throw out some ideas for essays, and check codes for errors. This way, while I am still doing the work, I still allow myself to use AI to enhance my learning.