Intelligence is an amalgamation of Perception, Action, Reasoning and Learning from data. From the beginning of human evolution, intelligence has been an innate response. It is this response that sets us apart from the other organisms we co-exist with. Computers and computation made it possible to build systems and programs that could simulate intelligence. In 1956, at a workshop conducted at Dartmouth, John McCarthy shaped what we know as modern AI. He simply explained it to be the construction and understanding of intelligent systems. Thus, began the journey of AI.

Prior to the rise of artificial intelligence I used to follow traditional study practices, which were extremely time consuming and involved a lot of effort. The notes given to students are often the same, regardless of their cognitive abilities. This “One size fits all” approach did not work for me. As a student at my university, I’m active in the student community and have numerous hobbies outside of it. This coupled with attending lectures from 8-4 AM, leaves me with little to no time to spend dedicated time sifting through the study material. I would spend hours together devising a study schedule that would turn out to be ineffective. The outcome of the time and effort put into studying would be minimally advantageous. This had to change. There had to be a way out where I could pursue all my interests and hobbies and still stay on track with my academic goals and ambitions.

In the third year of my undergraduate degree, AI saw an immense gain in popularity. Curious as to how technology could help me, I began exploring AI models like ChatGPT. I began simply by summarising lengthy paragraphs in the lecture notes. Surprisingly enough, the AI generated a simplified version of the paragraph. This would have easily taken twice the amount of time had it not been for AI. With frequent use I learned that I could interact with the tool and ask follow-up questions about the material, leading to better understanding. The prompts helped me assimilate the information even though it was the same information I was reading. The courses I have chosen have assignments that require me to read, understand and interpret scientific articles and data. I would often miss integral details embedded in long paragraphs. This was extremely discouraging, until I started using AI. The features make it extremely easy to interact with the high density of information packed into these articles. The tool became my brain storming partner, allowing me to provide prompts to it to better understand what needs to be understood. I started using the Socratic method and also used the tool as my brain storming partner. Consequently, I was able to improve the quality of my assignments significantly.

Although AI has limitless benefits, it can be concluded that it can only function accurately in collaboration with a human mind and intelligence. Using the right prompts is key to optimized results. It is also important to fact check the results generated, as there can sometimes be false interpretations. Additionally, it needs to be used ethically to prevent plagiarism and the use of generative AI in original works. All in all, AI is a powerful tool, but it should be used responsibly and ethically in order to maximize its potential benefits.

In conclusion, AI has drastically improved my academic capabilities and helped me reach my goals. The personalisation of the study material is based on my cognitive capabilities and is tailored just for me. This makes the time invested a lot more productive in comparison with using traditional study techniques and routines.