To quote ChatGPT, “ChatGPT is a large language model developed by OpenAI, trained to generate human-like text and understand natural language input”. The program has gained notoriety for its ability to write essays for the users. However, for several reasons, it still has use within Classrooms.
Teachers, administrators and parents are concerned about the use of AI technology by students to cheat on assignments and not complete work themselves. Many schools seek to outright ban the use of AI. What they are forgetting is that AI like ChatGPT is a tool, not a replacement for the creativity and originality that comes with one creating their own works. While technology can help with text generation and brainstorming, it cannot replace an individual's unique viewpoint and voice.
It’s important to understand the way the way common AI language models like ChatGPT work. They're only able to generate text it does not understand what it writes down. ChatGPT (the Most Common AI tool) was trained on the entirety of information that was available on the internet as of September 2021. ChatGPT uses an algorithm to figure out words that are commonly used on the internet around the words used in the prompt given. In the simplest terms, ChatGPT is just very good at guessing what comes next.
This creates a giant flaw in its ability to make competent writing. The internet is not the ideal source for information. The information on the internet tends to be dominated by western ideals and viewpoints. Not to mention the vast amounts of misinformation that can be found. This leads to ChatGPT having a skewed viewpoint of certain peoples, and pushes a white-centric view point. Such as how it tends to link Islam with terrorism when it’s prompted to write about Islam. Another issue that occurs due to its training data only being up to September 2021 it is unable to give accurate information on anything that happened after September 2021.
Like any tool AI could be used to benefit the classroom and many teachers are looking to do just that! There are plenty of examples on how AI could be used to, help students like to see the counter for their argument for when they write an argumentative essay or help teachers write up unique tests and quizzes, saving them valuable time. Ai can also be used to help students generate topic ideas or generate writing prompts for teachers. Those are only some ways the program could be used in the classroom.
The march forward of technology is inevitable. AI is a tool that can assist with information gathering and text generation, but cannot replace human creativity and personalization. So instead of trying to demonize it policy moving forward should try to integrate it into the learning process. Like how we've learnt to embrace technology before such as the introduction of computers and the internet. What makes us human is our creativity, resilience and ability to adapt, and that is something that can never be generated.
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