AI, Wikipedia Share Problem

• February 9, 2026

Samin Faiz & Avery Slaughter || STAFF WRITERS

Recent developments in the AI industry have taken our generation by storm.

With AI-generated responses taking over Google searches and a pocket-sized AI assistant just one click away for many, it’s not unreasonable to say that our robotic friends are becoming increasingly integrated into our daily lives. This is no surprise, considering the attractive list of benefits it brings to students.

“It’s helpful at times for quick answers,” explained senior Vignesha Jayakumar. “You don’t need to go to a site and get bombarded with ads and all that cookie nonsense.”

Despite its brevity and user-friendliness, AI is notorious for its shortcomings. According to a 2025 study from Columbia University——as well as the past experiences of many——the majority of leading AI engines give answers that are either partially or completely incorrect. The fabrication of information is a phenomenon known as “hallucination,” and it’s a trap that many students fall into while researching.

“It’s very inaccurate at times—. Sometimes, AI just spouts out hallucinations when they feel like they’re expected to give an answer,” Jayakumar noted.

The unreliability of AI seems oddly familiar to certain AHS faculty. Having taught courses that place an emphasis on research, history teacher Ruth Masters shares her experience with a well-known source that presents a similar threat to students.

“It’s a place to start—, kind of like when I’m teaching research and students ask, ‘Can I use Wikipedia?’ I’ll say, ‘No, but you can go to the bottom of an entry and use those sources—.’ I think of it in the same vein as that.”

Jayakumar sees the parallels between AI and Wikipedia, as well. “Every teacher has their own guidelines for research,” he added. “But Wikipedia is a one-stop shop for information; Wikipedia is unreliable, AI is unreliable, so maybe we should treat them the same.”

NMany newer computers come with a built-in button that summons Microsoft’s compact AI assistant, Copilot—a feature that cannot be disabled. Furthermore, search results and AI-generated responses seem to come in a package deal nowadays, with Google’s AI overview illuminating across your screen in place of top results. So let’s face it: AI is nearly impossible to avoid, even for those that do not intend to use it. This raises an important question: is AI use considered a form of academic dishonesty if it’s unintentional or unwilling? To what extent should AI use be allowed before it crosses the line into cheating?

“Sure, read it. But that’s not your source,” asserted Masters. “You’ve got to go digging for your information. So do I think it’s unavoidable? I think that’s a choice. And if you choose to use it in lieu of your own critical thinking, then yeah, I think that’s academic dishonesty.”

According to a 2025 study from Pew Research Center, only one percent of people habitually verify linked sources when provided with a Google AI summary. Instead, they trust that the information is accurate—the exact opposite of academic honesty.

“The thing is that students have to be proactive in making sure that what they’re taking from that information is accurate and reliable, just like how you would go to any news source and check whether they’re saying something biased or not biased,” reasoned Jayakumar.

This easy access to often unreliable information can be correlated with a higher rate of use, especially amongst students. It does, after all, seem like a bottomless well of information. Accurate or not, it’s undeniably a temptation that countless students succumb to.

“You know at some point, students need to learn self-control, right? There’s probably stuff in your house that is one step away from your use that you ought not be using,” Masters said.

It’s easy to fall prey to the allure of AI searches in a world where—, according to both Google’s AI overview and a verifiable report from Forbes—, the economy itself relies on companies like OpenAI. Teachers like Masters believe it still falls on students to use good practice when verifying their information, especially in the face of such temptations.

“I think that our role as high school teachers is to teach critical thinking… and I have a lot of concerns with students’ decreasing abilities to intellectually wrestle with information.”