ChatGPT in EDUCATION by Nicholas Dolan

09 November 2023

Over the last year, Artificial Intelligence has become a large talking point with the continuous developments made in the field. Whether it be within education, public policy or even health care, almost all sectors will begin to implement these new technologies, but this also comes with complications. One of the best examples of this can be seen with OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT. ChatGPT is an advanced AI language model developed by OpenAI, capable of engaging in natural language conversations and generating human-like text responses. It uses the GPT-3.5 architecture, trained on a vast dataset, to understand and respond to user queries in a coherent and contextually relevant manner. The advancements made by OpenAI, coupled with it being a free-to-use application have allowed many to take advantage of these new technologies, most notably within education. Schools and universities have been torn on handling such a tool and have caused a lot of worry as to whether students will turn to the chatbot to complete their assignments. This article will explore how ChatGPT has affected the education systems and whether there should be a cause for concern, or whether it should be adopted into the learning curriculum. 

Although it may feel as though the emergence of artificial intelligence has only come about over the past few years, it has been slowly developing since the creation of the first computer. Many might assume that artificial intelligence only comes in the form of human-like robots or self-driving cars, yet the reality is that we use artificial intelligence in our everyday lives without even knowing it. Facial recognition technology has seen large advancements, being used for Face ID to unlock our phones instead of passwords or being used in airports for passport E-Gates, these technologies are used every day by millions. The growth of social media has also allowed AI technologies to develop as the constant task of staying up to date with current trends continues to be a top priority. On top of using facial recognition for face filters, brands such as Snapchat have implemented their version of a chatbot, My AI, which users can interact with the same as ChatGPT. Music streaming platform Spotify have also jumped on the trend of implementing an AI feature with their own AI DJ who can help recommend music based on the user’s previous listening patterns. Perhaps an even more simple example could be seen in supermarkets where more are moving towards using self-checkout machines instead of human cashiers. These are only a select few examples of how AI is currently being used in the modern-day, however, they show that society is capable of adapting to new technologies which asks the question, why is there such fear over ChatGPT, especially within education? 

Teachers and educational policymakers around the world have been worried about the impact ChatGPT might have on students and their education as a whole. One of the biggest worries is that students will use the chatbot to cheat and complete assignments and tests on their behalf, whilst passing it off as their own. Jenna Lyle, a spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Education who spoke to the Washington Post, voiced her concerns about students using the chatbot and what it might mean for their education and development saying, “While the tool may be able to provide quick and easy answers to questions, it does not build critical-­thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success.” Its ability to generate large blocks of text within a few seconds of being asked a prompt allows for it to be the perfect tool for helping a student with an essay. With access to large amounts of data through the internet, it allows the chatbot to give answers on almost all topics, ranging from history and politics to science, and maths and even generating computer code. One of the biggest issues that schools have found is that the programming that makes up ChatGPT, allows for each answer given to be unique regardless of being asked the same prompt, therefore, making it almost impossible to tell whether it was written by a student or a bot. Although it may not be useful for written exams where there is no access to the internet, any form of online or take-home assessments can easily be completed just by asking the chatbot a simple question. Kevin Roose writing for the New York Times when discussing the impact ChatGPT might have on schools even said that ‘some publications have declared, perhaps a bit prematurely, that ChatGPT has killed homework altogether.’ There is no denying that although teachers might be able to monitor whether students use ChatGPT in class, at home they have no control over students using it and can only hope that students are honest and not using it if encouraged not to. 

Cheating is not the only worry that teachers have about students using ChatGPT when completing assignments. There is growing concern that the chatbot may put out misinformation when asked about topics, and when used for educational purposes it can be very damaging and counterproductive. There is no guarantee that the information that ChatGPT (and other chatbots) produce is always 100% accurate and therefore educational bodies must be careful when or if they allow students to use it. Some teachers have also voiced their concerns about the impact that it might have on their jobs. They worry that the chatbot can give quicker and more in-depth feedback on pieces of work making some teachers feel like they may soon become unnecessary and have their jobs at risk. 

The quick emergence and impressive abilities of ChatGPT instantly sparked worry among schools and education institutes and they felt the need to act fast. Many opted to ban the chatbot by blocking access to them on school networks and servers. The New York City public schools board looked to tackle the issue by blocking ChatGPT on the school network and computers, citing “concerns about negative impacts on students learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content.” New York City was not the only to ban ChatGPT within schools, by the start of 2023, Los Angeles, Washington, Alabama, Virginia and many more had followed. Prestigious universities in the United Kingdom also released statements regarding the use of the chatbot for students. Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge both released statements that warned students against using the chatbot to cheat. 

This therefore asks the question, will banning ChatGPT even work? Blocking access to it on school networks and computers does not stop students from using it at home or even using VPNs to bypass access on school networks. Teachers and schools can only police students whilst having them in the classroom and must rely on their honesty when completing work at home. Some students might avoid using it and complete the work themselves, however, there will always be a few who take the easy option and use the chatbot to complete their work for them. There have been a few attempts to create tools or programs to detect whether a piece of text was written by AI, one example is called GPTZero which was designed by a student at Princeton and is still in the early stages of development. Unfortunately, its abilities are still very limited and can easily be tricked. OpenAI themselves have also discussed with education policymakers the possibility of creating a tool that can detect AI-generated text, however, they also mentioned a similar worry that the effectiveness of this tool will only be limited due to the development of chatbots in general.  Banning ChatGPT might seem like a quick solution, however, it may very soon be an outdated fix as it is only a matter of time until other chatbots become as easily accessible for students allowing them to take their pick of chatbots.

Is it then possible for education and AI to co-habit within the classroom? Well for many, the belief is that instead of banning ChatGPT, schools and teachers should implement it in their classes and teach with it. Although the biggest worry surrounding ChatGPT is it being used for cheat, it should be remembered that cheating has always and will always be around. New technologies have also been introduced and faced the same concerns, for example, calculators and Google were also viewed as tools for cheating, however, they are now part of everyday education. The focus should be shifted from trying to find ways to prevent students from cheating, to how can these new technologies be used to develop their education. If the worry is that traditional assessments will become redundant, schools and teachers should look to reassess whether they are worth keeping as they are or adopting new tools and allowing for the natural progression of education to take place.

There are multiple ways in which ChatGPT can be utilised by teachers to improve the education of students. Many teachers and professors believe that the chatbot can be used to help improve the critical thinking skills of students. By asking the chatbot to summarise a story or text, it can allow students to analyse its response and dissect using their knowledge of the topic. It can also be used to ask the chatbot to give opinions and reasons for sides of an argument, again allowing students to take into account different views on topics they are studying and can almost use the chatbot as a debating partner. The issues that also come with ChatGPT producing some factual errors can mean that students need to be wary that using tools such as this can still provide inaccuracies and learn to not only trust one source.

ChatGPT can also be used to help teachers generate lesson plans or give new ideas on classroom activities that can allow for lessons to become more interactive and have students more engaged with their learning. Teachers have also mentioned the benefit of the chatbot as a personal tutor for students who may require further support on certain topics, allowing for the chatbot to tailor itself to the needs of a student when a teacher’s attention may be diverted elsewhere. Students who do not have English as their first language also discussed the impact that ChatGPT has had on their education, saying that it has helped with proofreading their work and asking for feedback to help them improve. ChatGPT is not the only place we can see AI being used for education. Companies such as Duolingo and Quizlet have used the new technology to incorporate AI into their apps to help provide a more diverse and unique learning experience for their users. 

The important aspect to remember throughout this whole discussion is that the focus should be on the students and their education, not more on whether it might disrupt traditional teaching. The purpose of school should be to educate and prepare students for the next step into the world of work. When the modern day is full of these advancing technologies, it should allow for these new advancements in AI to become a familiarity to them within the classroom, rather than hidden away and students only encounter them after they have graduated. With the rate of development in technology these days, it can only be assumed that they will continue to develop rather than disappear, and teachers should take this opportunity to use it to their advantage rather than ban it completely. 

Articles:

print