Why AI Won’t Be Banned in the U.S. – And Why That’s Not a Bad Thing

By: Rivy Mosegi, Opinion Editor

AI, ChatGPT and Gemini, just to name a few. Artificial intelligence is not foreign to any of us. As a matter of fact, it’s actually mainstream – our reality in today’s time. Whether you are a professor, faculty or student, you know of AI, have heard of AI systems and some of you reading this might even use AI systems.

As an English major, I remember being so angry about students using AI – seeing friends and even my coworkers using AI to study, amongst other things. It made me angry just having the thought of a robot regenerating ideas, repeating information and ultimately people utilizing these systems by literally stealing ideas from other people. AI has been one of the most conversed topics amongst my peers and I. I mostly love bringing it up because I love to hear the reasons and perspectives from other people about why they use it. And I remember this one particular conversation I had with a friend of mine who used AI frequently. He said to me, “It’s not AI that’s particularly the issue; it’s about how students utilize AI.” I thought that perspective was so interesting. Up until that point, I’d never actually had any true experience with AI systems and how they worked. He proceeded to explain to me why he utilized AI; he talked about his issues with starting papers, coming up with ideas for papers and even finishing a paper well. I remember him even poking his finger at me, emphasizing that not everyone could be as great a writer as I was (for which I would like to thank him).

During the summer, I had the opportunity to do some internships; one of them was with a refugee from Afghanistan who I had the opportunity to mentor and tutor in English. I just remember being a little overwhelmed during the summer – taking classes, doing two internships and also working part-time. I would assign my student homework and different videos to watch, but I kept thinking to myself: what would be a more efficient way to teach her English? And that’s when, of course, I had my first experience using ChatGPT. I would ask this bot to make a list of different English words, nouns, pronouns, adjectives and even dialogues in settings like a hospital, school admissions, a bank and even a job interview. This experience actually changed my perspective on AI; I was able to utilize it in a way where a student from another country could effectively learn and practice English.

That experience not only made me realize how AI could be used in a positive way, but it also made me realize how effective it is. My student loved the dialogues that I would assign for us to read aloud and all of the other properties of learning English. But it also was positive for me. I started off in my internship making documents on my own, but as both internships started getting busier and classes became more demanding, amongst other things, I was able to efficiently and effectively use AI in a way where I didn’t have to spend 20 minutes listing words or 30 minutes writing out dialogues. I was able to not only work with the student effectively, but also work with my own schedule effectively.

In a survey done for more than 1,100 U.S. students across colleges pursuing two-year, four-year and even graduate-level studies, 90% of students have used AI academically, with usage increasing over the past year. But halt! This usage is not limited to Gen Z. According to Dr. Aviva Legatt, in her article with Forbes, “90% of College Students Use AI: Higher Ed Needs AI Fluency Support Now,” states, “The largest share of respondents—43.9%—were adult learners between the ages of 45 and 60. Another 27% were 30–44, and only 29% were 18–29. That means AI isn’t just a Gen Z study hack; it’s also becoming a core tool for mid-career and lifelong learners returning to higher ed.” Across the board, people are saying the same things: they utilize AI for brainstorming ideas, outlines and complex concepts from all ranges of studies – math, science, English and more. People also have emphasized how efficient AI is, especially for working students or older students who pursue higher education and who have children and other demanding obligations. 

This is not the only reason that I believe AI will never be banned in the U.S., but will actually be encouraged and even legalized in institutions and on college campuses. The use of AI in other countries has become one of the most prominent reasons why. Statistics show that China’s investments into AI could reach $98 billion in 2025 alone. Government funding dominates with $56 billion, with companies contributing $24 billion. In the article “China to deploy $98bn in AI investment this year amid US tech rivalry,” Matty Zhao, Bank of America Securities’ co-head of China equity research, said in an interview with the South China Morning Post, “Obviously China and the US are competing with each other. Since a lot of the chip bottleneck depends on technology development, I think what the [Chinese] government can do is what they’re good at first.” China has even turned rice fields into server farms for their effort to boost artificial intelligence. On a 760-acre island on the Yangtze River, they are building data centers near population hubs to focus on “inference” – where AI tools like chatbots can generate responses with greater precision for faster applications. But between the never-ending rivalry between the U.S. and China, countries like India, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Canada, France, Germany and Israel, amongst many more, have invested billions of dollars into new and improved innovative AI systems. By far, though, the U.S. remains the biggest investor in AI, totaling $471 billion in 2024 alone.

What are we to make of these conclusions? The U.S. will not be banning AI anytime soon. Not only is it mainstream within the country, but it has also become mainstream outside of the U.S., which means competition has increased across the globe for more innovative AI. Especially now, with a better understanding of AI being used as a tool, I’ve come to realize that the real question isn’t whether AI exists – it’s how it’s used. That is what will ultimately shape regulations and laws concerning it. I’m personally not for AI writing papers, especially when we have the opportunity to read and study the work of some of the greatest writers and thinkers of all time. I genuinely enjoy writing papers and I’m good at it, but I do understand that some students don’t like writing papers, some struggle with them and others face different barriers.

I also don’t like the idea of young people clinging to these systems sentimentally (which, in fact, is happening as we speak), but I can see the value of using AI as a resource for studying, gathering statistics and providing the kind of academic support students may need. My pressing question is this: will colleges, universities and other institutions eventually stop banning these AI systems and instead conform to them? For some, it’s a scary thought, but it’s a conversation that needs to be had – especially considering the state of the world that AI has already brought us into.