AI kind of crept into everything this semester, especially in ICS 314. With all the stuff we had to do, having tools like ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot felt like survival gear. I wasn’t trying to cheat or anything—it just helped me not lose my mind. Sometimes it gave me good answers, sometimes not, but it saved me from staring at a blank screen for hours.
Experience WODs: After watching the videos and giving the WODs a shot, I still had no idea what I was doing half the time. So I’d ask ChatGPT stuff like, “How does underscore’s pluck work?” It would explain it simply and I’d go, “Ohhh okay.”
In-class Practice WODs: If I ran out of time or got stuck, I’d paste what I had and ask, “Why won’t this filter properly?” Usually it was something small I didn’t catch. Super clutch.
In-class WODs: I tried to finish them without help, but when I was panicking and the timer was ticking, I’d cave and ask for help. Like, “Can you write this function real quick?” Not proud of it, but it kept me from giving up.
Essays: Yep, I used ChatGPT here too. I’d put in what I had and say, “Can you make this sound less awkward?” It was basically my proofreader when my brain was fried.
Final Project: I wanted my landing page to look better but had no design sense, so I asked, “How can I make this React page look decent with Tailwind?” I just tried out whatever it suggested until something looked okay.
Learning a concept/tutorial: If something in a tutorial didn’t make sense, I’d ask, “Explain JavaScript promises like I’m 12.” It sounds silly but really helped.
Answering a question in class or Discord: Didn’t really happen. I mostly lurked in Discord.
Asking or answering a smart-question: Yeah… I didn’t really do this either. I was just trying to get by.
Coding example: I’d ask, “Show me how to use underscore.map to double numbers,” when I forgot the syntax or needed a quick refresher.
Explaining code: Sometimes I’d write code and have no clue what I just did. I’d throw it into ChatGPT and say, “Explain this to me like I’m five.” It helped a lot.
Writing code: When I was stuck or too tired to think straight, I’d say, “Give me a basic React component for a schedule,” and go from there.
Documenting code: Didn’t really use AI for this. Writing comments was easier to just knock out on my own.
Quality assurance: When ESLint screamed at me and I didn’t know why, I’d copy the error and say, “How do I fix this?” Saved me from digging through random Stack Overflow posts.
Other uses: There were nights when I was just mentally done and typed, “Why is coding so hard?” The response didn’t solve anything but made me laugh and feel slightly less alone.
Honestly, AI was a safety net. It didn’t always give me the perfect answer, but it gave me enough to keep going. Sometimes it stops people from learning because they could ask it to complete the assignment.
I also used AI for more everyday stuff—like writing emails when I didn’t know how to sound professional, or summarizing long articles when I didn’t have the energy to read. Sometimes I’d even ask it to help me outline responses for class discussions I didn’t feel confident about. It kind of became this general assistant I could lean on whenever I felt overwhelmed, not just with code but with school life in general.
The main challenge was knowing when to stop using it and actually struggle a bit, because that’s where the learning really happens. But the opportunity is enormous. AI can seriously boost your understanding and confidence if you use it right.
Traditional learning has structure, which is good, but it’s slow. AI is fast and flexible, but easy to abuse. With traditional methods, I’d spend hours stuck. With AI, I could move forward faster, but I had to make sure wasn’t’t skipping the thinking part.
I think AI should be part of courses like this. Some assignments allow you to use it, and others ban it, so you can build real skills. AI is going to be part of our work lives anyway, so we might as well learn how to use it responsibly.
In the end, AI helped me survive ICS 314. It wasnwasn’tfect, and I definitely overused it sometimes, but it kept me moving when I felt stuck or burnt out. As long as you’you’re just copying answers blindly, I think it’sit’segit tool that can help many students, especially the tired, overworked ones like me.