Solon urges higher education stakeholders to tackle students’ use of AI

MANILA, Philippines — Tertiary education stakeholders should meet to address the use of artificial intelligence among students and its impact on learning, Solid North Rep. Ching Bernos said on Monday.

She said “AI is here to stay,” urging universities and colleges to prepare for its boom, which she warned may influence critical thinking skills honed at the tertiary level.

“Now more than ever, it is necessary to build among our students a strong foundation of critical thinking and intellectual rigor so that they treat AI and other forms of technology as tools rather than shortcuts in fulfilling school outputs,” Bernos, a member of the House higher and technical education committee, said in a statement.

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READ: UP College of Law curbing AI use in class, cites quality of students’ work

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A 2025 report by Instructure, a US-based education technology company, showed 63 percent of Filipino students incorporate generative chatbots for text-based tasks, with 58 percent using it for translation purposes.

Around 55 percent of students use AI to simplify concepts they don’t understand, as 52 percent rely on such tools for summarizing academic articles. 

“To ban or not to ban AI use in our schools is the burning question that we must answer soon,” said Bernos.

In early August, the University of the Philippines College of Law curbed the use of AI among freshmen students after it observed a “considerable decline in the quality” of arguments and discourse.

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“It will not be an easy process, but it is one that we must start immediately, otherwise we risk our students becoming unprepared in the face of swift and massive changes in the technological and employment landscape,” Bernos said. 

“At the soonest possible time, let’s discuss this and take action,” she added. /mr