Artificial intelligence has gotten a lot of bad press when it comes to education with students found using programs like ChatGPT to write papers and do homework.
More schools are saying AI has a place in the classroom and one North Texas district is partnering with one of America's largest companies to make sure students are AI savvy before they enter the workforce.
It's still months away but seniors at North Mesquite High School are thinking intently about graduation.
"My goal is to maintain and all 'A' like range," one student shared of her hopes to graduate in the top 10% of her class.
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The students have been goal-setting all year long with a little help, from technology.
It's called AYO, an AI-based program Mesquite ISD has in the classroom that can monitor how much students are studying, doing homework, and can let them and teachers know if they're really on track to get in the top 10%
"I wasn't sure it's new, right? How am I going to make this work? How is it going to fit and align with my class?" Kimberli Christina told us.
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Christina says while she was hesitant she sees how this tool has not only made it easier to track her student's performance but has been like a virtual assistant helping improve the student's progress.
"We're creating goals for ourselves, like academically and then, like something we want to achieve for ourselves," said Abigail Ortega of the new program.
AI in the classroom may give adults a double take but the students don't see the big deal, saying just like Netflix pays attention to what you watch and gives you suggestions for what to watch next, the computer does the same for them on studying and life.
"It just has like, all these questions and like activities you can do to figure out, like, what we want to do career-wise, and what we want to do after high school and stuff like that," said Fatima Castro, another student.
The district employed the new technology with help from the Walton Family, as more of America's biggest corporations are eager to see high schoolers start to regularly use and get comfortable with AI which is expected to explode on the workforce soon.
"I don't say, like, I'm on it 100% at a time, but I can say when I am that it really does help I go through my stuff," said Castro.
The district is only using it in their AVID classes where they set goals, and work on study skills, but it's a first step, to see how AYO could one day slide into science or math class and the teachers and students we met, don't mind a bit.
"Much of what we do as teachers is build relationships with our students, and that, that, I think, is the meat and potatoes of teaching, not the technology," said Christina.
