Artificial intelligence seems inescapable, much like the cool fall breeze blowing leaves onto West Pine or the freshman flu sweeping the dorms floor by floor. Unfortunately, no matter how many masks you wear to class or how loud you scream at the wind, nothing can stop the seasons from changing or dispel your runny nose. AI is much the same, it is irrevocably changing society and no one can stop its spread.

I am a double major in English and education looking to be a teacher one day, and I believe that the last place AI should be in is the classroom. I especially believe the two should be separate as I see Saint Louis University (SLU) encouraging the use of artificial intelligence in some of their courses.

When AI was starting to become public, I remember liking it. Seeing all of the AI generated creations, like videos of presidents playing video games or podcasters discussing “a beach that makes you old,” I was amazed. AI seemed to be a tool of creativity, allowing people to render new types of content never imaged before.

As AI began to branch out more on the internet, I started to dislike it. AI generated videos were easier to identify, voices replicated by AI sounded awful and I realized that I had become disillusioned. My new strategy was to simply not interact with AI, if possible. It is one of the only advantages AI has over illness or time’s passage. It seemed you could choose to avoid AI for the rest of your life.

This was perfectly fine for me, until I heard that professors were instructing students in the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business to use AI for their classwork.

This was a turning point for me and many of my friends. We knew the dangers of AI and how it negatively impacted the world around us, but like many Americans, we only took the problem seriously when it impacted us directly. Now that we have been affected, I want to try and get the word out about the situation. I can already see how this is going to be a slippery slope for SLU and St. Louis as a whole.

I am concerned by the use of AI in the business school, or B-School, and that many classes required to graduate mandate this new tool. There are many examples of how AI has hurt students’ learning. Its use in the classroom has been proven to cause “over-reliance on AI, diminished critical thinking skills, data privacy risks, and academic dishonesty” in students according to a study done by MDPI. AI can only stunt, rather than aid, a student’s academic growth at any age and in any subject. 

I have seen several syllabi for classes in the B-School, specifically MGT 2000, OPM 2070 and CMM 1250. All of these syllabi state the professor allows the students to use AI for some or all of their assignments. Each class is required for any degree in the B-School, as they are either listed as a part of the Program Requirements or the Business Common Body of Knowledge (CBK). 

What I find most interesting is the syllabus for MGT 2000, “Legal Environment of Business.” This class, in particular, is interesting as one of its sections is taught by the Associate Dean-Elect for Undergraduate Education at the B-School, Tracy James. Not only is the professor allowing AI to be used, but it seems like this allowance could involve the administration of the B-School in some way.

With all of this in mind, I feel that this serves as a dismal omen for the future. SLU has had a relationship with AI for a while, even offering a masters degree in AI. It makes sense, AI is seemingly the future, so why would they not teach it? I am more worried that it has begun to worm its way into the curriculum. Returning to the MGT 2000 syllabus, a listed material for the class is a Large Language AI Model, such as ChatGPT or CoPilot. As AI continues to grow, it may work its way deeper into curriculums, possibly spreading to different SLU departments.

This is all happening in the wake of the recent ban of a data center in St. Charles. The people of St. Charles uncovered the data center and joined together not only to end the construction of that data center, but also to enact a ban on the construction of new data centers until August of 2026. This is very emblematic of the wider disillusionment the public has with AI and how its negative consequences can be combated. The data center was found to be connected to Google, most likely to be used for their AI model, Google Gemini.

St. Charles’ rejection of data centers and AI is reasonable from a community standpoint. Cities like Memphis have allowed companies like X to build supercomputers in their communities and the people of the city are paying the price. Communities are being polluted by the emissions of these factories and their power and water bills are skyrocketing. To run X’s supercomputer at full capacity it takes “a million gallons of water per day and 150 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 100,000 homes per year,” according to research done by the National Public Radio (NPR). These data centers are harming communities by simply existing, and it seems like while the data center in St. Charles got rejected, it will not be long until they try again elsewhere.

These companies want to keep building these data centers to grow their AI in both strength and speed. This growth is happening even though there are so many reasons why AI growth needs to slow down. AI has been cited as a way to solve climate change, even though its provided solutions to climate change have been limited and it actively contributes to global warming. AI has also been proposed to help those with mental health issues, even though AI therapists have been proven to be less effective. AI has also been shown to side with those who are depressed or suicidal, making some situations worse, even leading to the death of a teenager.

AI and data centers may be coming even sooner than you think. Just a couple of days ago, Green Street filed a “zoning only” building permit for a $600 million project on a vacant lot next to the closed Armory, presumably for a new data center. It seems that AI and data centers are at our front door. 

I want to encourage you, whether you are a part of the SLU community or not, to go out and advocate against this evil. Data centers and AI have been proven to damage the local communities while only benefiting the corporations that create them. The best way to stop this from happening is to advocate to your local leaders and let them know what you want for your area. 

There is a city meeting happening on Sept. 25 where this data center will be brought up. Showing up to this meeting, in person or virtually, and simply speaking your mind can have an effect on the outcome. Much like getting sick or the seasons changing, we may not be able to stop AI from spreading. We may be able to persist to a better outcome to let others know that we can stand together and fight it, whether here in St. Louis, in St. Charles or anywhere around the world.