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By TJ SoftUpdated:

Artificial Intelligence in University Studies. A Second Brain and an Exoskeleton for Your Mind

Sztuczna Inteligencja na Studiach. Drugi Mózg i Egzoszkielet dla Twojego Umysłu

When the Internet was becoming widespread twenty years ago, teachers worried that students would stop memorizing anything, since any answer could be found in a few seconds. Today, artificial intelligence is raising the same concerns. History tends to repeat itself, but the conclusions remain the same: technology does not have to make us stupid if we know how to use it.

For the modern student, AI is not just ChatGPT used to generate ready-made assignments (which, incidentally, is the easiest way to get into trouble). Rather, it is a powerful exoskeleton for the mind. It is a tool that does the “grunt work,” searches databases, formats citations, and writes simple scripts, giving you time for what matters most in learning: thinking, connecting facts, and creativity.

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Table of contents

Research 2.0, or How to Search 300 Pages in 3 Minutes.

We all know the problem: you enter a query into Google and are flooded with a wave of ads and low-quality articles. Standard language models can also be risky, as they may “hallucinate,” inventing dates or names with unwavering confidence. That’s why the key to success is using tools that are “connected” to reliable sources.

Instead of wandering aimlessly, it is worth using Deep Search(available in leading models such as ChatGPT and Perplexity). It works differently from a regular chat: the model first searches the web, reads the content, analyzes it, and only then builds a response based on it. This is an ideal solution when you are entering a new topic and need a quick overview to understand the context and terminology.

If, however, you are writing a thesis, Consensus.app will become your best friend. It is a search engine that ignores the regular internet and searches only peer-reviewed scientific publications. When you ask a question, you receive a research-based answer, along with information on whether there is a consensus in the scientific community on the issue.

An equally revolutionary tool is Google’s NotebookLM. It is a kind of “closed system”: the model works only with the files you provide (notes, PDFs, slides). This eliminates the risk of fabricating facts. What’s more, you can add a link to a lecture on YouTube, and AI will let you “talk” to the video, instantly extracting specific information without having to scrub through an hour-long recording.

Tool | Category | Main application | When is it best to use? |

Consensus.app | Scientific Research | Searching peer-reviewed scientific papers and assessing the consistency of their findings. | When you are looking for reliable references for a thesis or want to verify scientific facts. |

NotebookLM | Notes / Analysis | Working with your own files (PDFs, notes, YouTube links) without the risk of making up facts. | For studying for exams (creating quizzes from notes), summarizing lectures, and “talking” with textbooks. |

Perplexity / Deep Search | General Research | In-depth Internet searches with specific sources cited. | When you need a quick overview of a new topic and are looking for up-to-date information instead of wandering around Google. |

Claude / ChatGPT | Writing / Editing | Text generation, style improvement, structure creation, brainstorming. | For language editing (“rewrite it in an academic style”), creating a paper outline, and overcoming writer’s block. |

ChatGPT (Data Analysis) | Data / IT | Data analysis, chart creation, writing Excel formulas and code (Python). | When you need to analyze a large spreadsheet, create a chart, or write a script (Vibecoding). |

Scite.ai | Scientific Research | Citation analysis (checks whether other researchers confirm or refute a given paper). | For an in-depth literature analysis when you want to know whether a given study is still up-to-date and reliable. |

DeepL / Grammarly | Language | Contextual translation and advanced grammar correction. | When translating foreign-language literature or writing an abstract in English. |

Canva (Whiteboard) | Organization | Visualization of ideas, mind maps, organizing prompts. | For the conceptual phase, when you have many loose ideas and need to arrange them into a logical whole. |

Writing Workshop: Fighting the Blank Page.

Writing papers is often a struggle with a blank page. AI works great as an editor, not an author. Instead of asking, “write it for me,” try pasting your rough draft with the request: “Improve the style to make it more academic, remove repetitions, but don’t change my arguments.” For the Polish language, models such as Claude or the homegrown Bielik work particularly well.

Presentations Made by AI

Creating presentations is one of the better ways to use artificial intelligence. A significant part of transferring content from text to slides is quite mechanical. AI handles this fairly well. The risk of fraud or hallucinations is much lower here because the presentation is based on text you have already created. Available tools include Napkin.ai and Gamma.app. You can also ask ChatGPT to generate a .pptx file, which can then be opened in PowerPoint or, for example, Canva.

Additionally, Gemini can create presentations, which can then be exported to Google Slides. You need to select Canvas mode and request this in the prompt.

In each of the cases described, we have the option to manually edit the content. This is important because AI does not perform this task perfectly; generally, language models give it their all—but only to 70%. Some slides need to be removed manually. And sometimes language models omit important elements and do not “bring them out” as headings or separate slides.

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Vibecoding: anyone can use advanced formulas in Excel and Python scripts.

Artificial intelligence is also blurring the line between the humanities and the sciences. Thanks to a phenomenon known as “vibecoding,” you can create advanced formulas in Excel or write Python scripts (e.g., to retrieve data from hundreds of websites at once) using only natural language. You describe the problem in Polish, and AI returns ready-to-use code.

How to Use AI Ethically:

This is the most important point. Universities increasingly require transparency. Using AI as an assistant is generally acceptable, as long as you acknowledge it and use it wisely. Concealing this fact or submitting work generated entirely by a machine is asking for trouble.

Here’s a simple guide to distinguishing help from dishonesty:

Safe and Ethical Use (Support) | Risky and Unethical Use (Replacement) |

Proofreading: Improving the grammar, style, and punctuation of one’s own text. | Generation: Creating entire chapters using the “Copy-Paste” method. |

Explanation: A request to explain difficult concepts or mechanisms. | Uncriticalness: Citing sources provided by AI without verifying them (risk of fabricated bibliographies). |

Structure: Generating ideas for a work plan or table of contents. | Authorship: Claiming as one’s own conclusions and theses invented by the machine. |

Research: Searching the literature using dedicated tools (e.g., Consensus). | Lack of verification: Submitting work with logical errors that you failed to catch while reading the text. |

Remember to cite your sources. Style guides such as APA already provide guidelines on how to indicate the use of tools like ChatGPT. If AI helped you with your research or proofreading, mention it in the methodological introduction. Honesty builds trust.

Memory, Curiosity and Paper

Will AI make us stop remembering? It will probably change what we remember. The internet taught us to remember paths to information, rather than the information itself. AI takes this a step further: you do not even need to know the keywords; it is enough to describe the context (“that video where the guy does this and that, and then that jar breaks…”).

It has its advantages: you access knowledge faster. But it also has drawbacks. Our brain processes information differently when we take notes by hand. Filmmakers, architects, and writers often start with a sheet of paper because this physical process fosters creativity. Therefore, despite having access to the latest AI models, don’t throw away your traditional notebook. Treat AI as a discussion partner and a tool for verifying myths, not as the sole source of truth.

Summary

Curiosity remains the most important quality of a student. AI can answer any question, but you must come up with the idea to ask: “Why didn’t China dominate the world if it invented gunpowder?”

Artificial intelligence will not replace learning, but it will certainly change the way we learn. It is worth boarding this train consciously, keeping your hand on the wheel rather than merely looking out the window.