AI tools will not do it all for you! By John BandlerAI Tools Will Not do it All for You

by John Bandler

I have done a bit of learning and teaching in my life so far.

As a part-time teacher I have witnessed the changes that artificial intelligence (AI) tools brought for students, and continue to see the effects.

Whatever the benefits of AI for learning, it is clear that some students misuse it.

Also, I see that some students at the college, graduate, and law school level are having difficulty with some of the skills we need throughout life, and which we expect (or hope) formal education will provide. Those skills include having a solid ability to:

  • Read
  • Think
  • Analyze
  • Write
  • Edit
  • Struggle by using effort to get through the above.

Education and learning are not restricted to formal academic institutions and two things are true:

  • Some people obtain a degree, including advanced degrees, without achieving the necessary education and learning
  • Some people are able to learn and educate themselves even without formal or advanced education.

So please consider this about you learn, whether you do this on your own or in a formal academic setting.

When I say "AI Tool", you can also read that as "LLM Tool", or "Software Tool" or whatever else. Let's not get too technical with word choice on that, especially given all of the marketing hype, mislabeling of software tools, hucksterism, and so forth.

Plenty of marketing hype

There is no shortage of marketing hype, as AI companies spend millions of dollars and use the full abilities of their technology tools to try influence consumers to use their product.

Once people use an AI tool, they are subject to further influence as they use the tool. The tool learns about the user and provides answers and information to the user. Hopefully the user is able to separate fact from misinformation or fiction.

AI promises to read for you, summarize it so you don't have to read it yourself, to write for you, and edit for you. It promises to save you time and make things easy. Almost every more traditional software now offers AI writing or summarizing prompts.

Some might ask if it is worth it be saved the time and trouble of having to write our own words, and read the words that others wrote, or even think our own thoughts.

Our current abilities are clear and troublesome:

We can use an AI tool to write, and an AI tool to read and summarize the words that someone else's AI tool used to write.

AI is a tool

Let's be clear that AI is simply a tool. A tool is rarely "bad" or "good" in and of itself, because it depends on how the tool is built, marketed, configured, and then used.

Any tool can be:

  • Used properly for good
  • Misused by accident or mistaken belief
  • Deliberately used for bad.

It's about the journey and the destination

You've heard this phrase:

It's about the journey not the destination

We need to tweak it, to reflect that both the journey and the the destination are important.

It's about the journey and the destination

Then we need to ask these questions about learning and education.

  • What should the journey be?
  • What should the desired destination be?
  • What shortcuts are true shortcuts (that get us to the same desired destination)?

A true shortcut gets us to the same destination as the longer route. We experience this all the time when driving or walking somewhere, we could take the direct route, or the scenic route.Take the direct route (shortcut) or the scenic route? They should go to the same destination. John Bandler, AI tools will not do it all for you

Sometimes we choose the scenic route because we are not in a hurry, and want to enjoy the journey and the sites we see. Sometimes we use the more direct shortcut because we need to get there quickly.

The learning journey requires effort and time

The learning journey requires time and effort. Sometimes struggle and frustration. If it was easy, everyone would do it and effortlessly.

Learning requires practice and effort. This means practicing and exercising the skills you need to

  • Read
  • Think
  • Analyze
  • Write
  • Edit.

You get better with practice and effort. You gain confidence in your abilities and can improve yourself. This is the case for any skill, any learning, and including academic subjects, sports, and crafts.

AI tools may take you to a different destinationAI tools may take you to a different destination, and are not a true shortcut. John Bandler, AI tools will not do it all for you

An AI tool that makes the process simple and easy might not take you to the destination where you have learned, built skills, and gained confidence.

You might submit the assignment easily, with minimal effort. The paper gets done quickly. The report is completed easily.

Maybe the product is even half decent or good, and maybe no one realizes that you used an AI tool to do it (and perhaps that you yourself were not as important to the process or the product).

Used improperly, these AI tools do not get you to the destination where you have learned through the process. Your learning may have only advanced just a few steps. This means the AI tool may not be a true shortcut, but takes you to a place you didn't want to go.

You decide

You decide how you want to be in the future, and how you want to learn now.

You get to decide what tools you will use, how you will use them, and whether and how you will rely on automated output from a technology tool (or social media platform).

We are subject to influence constantly, especially through technology, and now this includes how we learn.

Education and learning is both a journey and a destination. Figure out the destination you want to reach. Then put in the effort and take your time during the journey. AI shortcuts might not get you to a destination where you have properly learned, built your skills, and gained confidence in yourself.

Links

This page is hosted at https://johnbandler.com/ai-tools-will-not-do-it-all-for-you

Posted 6/21/2025. Updated 01/20/2026