What was it like to be a high school student when generative AI was unleashed upon the world in 2022? For Masson Sam, an economics student, and Johan Houdebine, a mechanical engineering major, both undergraduates at the University of Michigan, the experience in high school was surreal—and confusing. Without clear guidelines from their teachers or school leaders on how to use such a transformative technology, they and their classmates were left to figure it out for themselves.
Now, four years later, Sam and Houdebine are facing a future workforce where they feel they need to know how to use AI smartly and effectively to build a career. But they also recognize that they must balance their passion about technology with real-world experiences, critical thinking, and human connection. Their journey in keeping curious and digitally healthy offers lessons for educators in what students need to know to succeed in the future as education and careers rapidly change.
Can you talk about your high school experience as AI exploded onto the scene? How did you and your peers react to this new technology?
Masson Sam: I was a sophomore when ChatGPT came out in 2022. And the way our teachers talked about AI was almost like it was completely outlawed. They weren’t encouraging us to experiment with it, to use it, because the school system saw a valid point that people were able to work on their essays and do these math problems entirely through artificial intelligence. Throughout high school, our teachers did not want students to use it.
Johan Houdebine: I agree with Masson. It was kind of weird when ChatGPT came out for the first time because teachers didn’t know how to react to it. And a lot of students saw it as liquid gold, like, “We don’t have to do homework anymore!” Some students were irresponsible, even trying to write their senior essays with it. And you could start to see an overdependence on it.
I saw ChatGPT as a tool that could help me, but I still had to retain my autonomy as a person. I couldn’t let it make the final decision. I approached it with that type of mindset and used it more like a tutor. If my AP Calculus teacher gave us some homework, I would ask it to generate 10 more questions for me for practice. It was cool because you don’t have to go to those SAT places that charge over $100 per hour. You could have an at-home tutor for a few dollars a month.
I saw ChatGPT as a tool that could help me, but I still had to retain my autonomy as a person.
Was there any guidance from your high school teachers about the proper use of generative AI?
Houdebine: It was just like, “Don’t do it.” That was it.
Sam: Yeah, there was no framework, and I think we needed some level of encouragement to learn how to use these tools ethically and understand their capabilities. There are so many capabilities with AI that can really help someone be more efficient, more productive. For example, to prep for this interview, I gave it the questions and I just talked to it. It gave me notes to help me go deeper into my thoughts. AI can be really useful, but people just need the framework to know how to do that.
What advice would you give to a K-12 teacher about using AI in the classroom?
Houdebine: Treat AI as a tool, but keep it within the classroom so you can monitor its use—especially for younger students. You can train AI to only speak to certain information that is specifically within the curriculum, so it can be suited toward kids and rolled out as a tool. I think that’s an appropriate way of allowing them to learn without them getting too dependent on it. If teachers are more proactive in how they talk about it, and if they can make everyone aware of the dangers as well, I think that’s a good approach.
How did the guidance and usage of AI tools change when you got to college?
Sam: It was definitely a transformative period going from high school to college. You have almost unlimited access to these AI tools. No one’s standing over your shoulder telling you that you’ve been using it too much. In fact, I was encouraged to use it. In my freshman year entrepreneurship class, we used AI to build a start-up business. It helped us brainstorm ideas and do market research, which we would never have had time to do as four kids in a college classroom if we weren’t able to ask AI to create surveys and emails. We built the first demo of the project with AI, even though none of my team members knew how to code. Trying to build something with AI is crazy, because you’re able to really bring your imagination to reality.
Houdebine: I think one thing I realized when I got to college was how important AI is going to be in future careers. Software engineers have their own coding assistants with them all the time, even though they know how to code already. It speeds up the workflow and the efficiency of everything you do. And here at college, it can help me do menial tasks quicker, and I have more free time to study and learn and also just interact with the real world and go outside and be with friends. You can finish your schoolwork so much faster while still understanding it and just have fun in college.
Are you self-taught in AI tools? Or have you taken courses on how to effectively use them?
Sam: I had the chance this past year to connect with a mentor, and I asked him, “What are the most important skills to make me successful in the future workforce?” He told me prompt engineering and knowing how to use AI. Because five years from now, and even right now, two people can have the same exact skills, the same exact grit, and be amazing workers. But the one who embraces AI and uses it to some capacity is going to be the worker who keeps their job. He told me that, and I took it to heart. I took an AI certification in prompt engineering, and I’ve brought that knowledge to learn new AI tools.
Stay curious [about AI]. I think the people who are the most successful are the ones who are constantly willing to learn.
What advice would you give high school students about engaging with AI?
Houdebine: Try learning about using AI in a responsible way that extends your learning, not replaces it, and see what you can create. There’s a lot that you can do with AI and there’s a lot that you can figure out about yourself and what you like to do. So I would say just keep on experimenting and keep on trying stuff. It never hurts to try.
Sam: Stay curious. I think the people who are the most successful are the ones who are constantly willing to learn. There’s no age, no threshold where someone learns everything. And I think whether it’s AI, whether it’s learning a new recipe, just staying curious and trying new things is what’s going to bring so much value to life.
Does anything worry you about emerging technologies like AI? And where do you see potential and hope with these technologies?
Houdebine: I feel like some of the scary aspects of AI are sometimes the coolest aspects at the same time, if that makes sense. It’s scary because of the potential that it has to displace people from their jobs. But then also maybe we could allow humans to choose more creative outputs and follow their dreams instead of doing mindless tasks. My end goal for AI is that hopefully it can just remove all the boring stuff from our lives and let us do more of what we want.
Sam: I think what’s worrisome is we’re living the beginning of the next Industrial Revolution, but 10 times the output and 100 times the speed. It’s going to happen so fast. But I fear the lack of mobility between groups. I have the privilege of going to a school that empowers me to learn and be curious. But there are also communities all over the world that don’t have access to AI, and that gap of capability between them and others is going to be so big. That person who doesn’t have access is going to be at a loss. But that’s what also brings hope because these AI companies, if they do what they say they want to do, will work on democratizing AI.
But on the other side, what brings me hope is these tools are going to change the future. It’s going to be so different that we can’t even imagine it. And I’m so excited for that.
What does being digitally healthy mean to you, both in terms of your schoolwork and personal life? What are some healthy habits around tech use?
Sam: We’re in an attention economy. These giant social media companies’ algorithms are designed to keep you on their apps as long as possible. So for me, being intentional with my use of technology is important. I’m not saying I never use my phone to scroll on TikTok, but I try to be aware of things like, I’ve been sitting here for an hour scrolling. Maybe I should do something else.
When I wake up, I try my best not to touch my phone or look at emails at all for the first hour. And the benefit of that is starting the day with clarity and not having to worry about anything else other than that present moment.
Houdebine: In college, I try my best to be present, learn in class, not get distracted. You have to take breaks, connect with your friends. Go outside. Say hi to your mom. Life is meant to be vivacious and to be experienced.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
