What Is AI vs. AI?

Artificial Intelligence vs. Actual Intelligence

Can Artificial Intelligence and Actual Intelligence be at war? If so, who will win?

Roof Sweatte is a Cultural Architect, founder of IamRoof LLC, and creator of the R.O.O.F. Framework. To learn more about his work, visit iamroof.com.

School is a mental gym. We are literally in class to use our minds — so why try to escape? Ummm. I dunno, ask him… her. Are you here to use AI or to be AI? I thought about this question over and over for the past year while interacting with hundreds of students. And just like you, I want to know.

How Is AI Being Used in the Classroom?

Students are already being told that by next year, cellphone use will be removed — as if that isn't already challenging enough — not to mention access to social media and AI through those same phones. I watched a student use ChatGPT to help them with a late assignment. They wanted to finish before the next class so they could hand in their work — or should I say, their artificially intelligent work. Either way, what are they really learning? Where is the challenge? And better yet, how can we promote responsible use of AI and critical thinking at the same time?

As someone who works inside the education system and has watched the surge of technology firsthand, I remember leaning on a quote rather than force. I don't believe in forced compliance. Kids hate it and never listen long enough for our satisfaction — and let's face it, adults aren't huge fans of being told what to do either. No one is.

Instead, I would say something like:

"You have to be the kind of student who understands the power of the AI, but has the discipline to understand the education you can earn without it."

Followed by:

"The problem isn't the use of AI. Losing focus of your future is."

I believe that landed with many students. It didn't solve the problem immediately, but students registered something. They all have access to AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity — all downloadable in seconds. So what can we do?

The Questions We Are All Asking

Some of the questions many of us have are truly valid — like:

• Is AI making us less intelligent?

• If AI can think for us, should it?

• Are students actually learning or just submitting?

• What happens to critical thinking when the thinking is done for you?

• Can artificial intelligence replace actual intelligence?

• Is AI in the classroom helping students grow — or helping them avoid growing?

Are any of these an actual intelligent approach to learning?

What AI Cannot Do

Sure, you can get the work done faster and give it a clean look — but what we fail to realize is how much control we have lost in the process. How do we even create artificial intelligence? Easy — someone who was actually intelligent built it. So just imagine what you can become, what you can create, using your own mind daily. To create is to be actually intelligent. Before technology, that is all we had. But it is not all you have. Use it. Test the waters. Challenge yourself.

I dare you.

I believe using artificial intelligence is a wonderful thing. But here is what it lacks — actual intelligence and the ability to love what it is doing. Only we can do that. The human mind has a far greater capacity to do amazing things. It may take a while, and it can be hard to see at first — but how many times has someone shocked us? Millions of times, and I can't even count. Our previous creators laid the groundwork for every brilliant thing we have ever seen, and without actual intelligence, we would not have AI at all.

What is artificial was first created by someone who is actually intelligent.

Where Actual Intelligence Lives

I highly recommend deep diving into your own mind. Stop shrinking into anything artificial when it comes to your thinking, because actual intelligence lives inside you. What lives there is something robust, something not yet fully seen. Our minds are creative drivers that lead the way.

Imagine where yours will take you — actually — if you exercise it, use it, and remember that school is the mental gym. The training room. The place built for you to keep developing it.

I use AI myself. Of course I do. There are real benefits to using the right tools — and that is exactly how I see it: as a tool. But what I am highlighting here is the difference between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence. Too much use of anything has consequences. Too much drinking leads to poor decisions. What happens when someone drinks and drives?

So the question is yours to answer:

If you decide to control or be controlled, where do you see yourself growing into someone with actual intelligence?

Roof Sweatte is a Cultural Architect, motivational speaker, and founder of IamRoof LLC. His work is rooted in the R.O.O.F. Framework — Resilience, Openness, Ownership, Foundation — and is designed to help individuals, students, and communities build from the inside out. Learn more at iamroof.com.