Technology has become the biggest disruptor of education. Amazingly potent and versatile technologies have come in in the past few decades that have changed how we disseminate information and impart education. Computers, software applications, the Internet, electronic telecommunication technologies, augmented/virtual/mixed reality, data analytics, and artificial intelligence are some prominent examples of technologies transforming nearly every aspect of modern education.
Artificial intelligence is the latest in a long line of technologies that have sent the world of education into an upheaval. Intricately connected to the world of learning, AI is the culmination of incredibly deep research and some of the most powerful technologies. AI-powered paraphrasing tools, essay writers, intelligent bots, automated analytics platforms for evaluating student performance, AI-powered teaching assistants & content management systems– it would take an entire book to talk about all the different AI tech disrupting education.
We are going to take a look at a relatively new AI tech. Considered the most powerful AND the most successful amongst its contemporaries & set to bring about a storm of change in education, ChatGPT is the subject of numerous articles and intense debate across business sectors.
What is ChatGPT? How Does it Work?
ChatGPT is a large language model from Open AI, an AI research company funded by the biggest names in the global software & computer science industry. Large language models are AI systems that employ natural language processing, a branch of AI dealing with processing, understanding, and generating natural human language.
As the name suggests, ChatGPT can conversationally interact with human beings. This means that users can ask any questions to the system, and it will respond naturally like another human. Numerous articles and content are flooding the web and social media, all talking about the immensely powerful capabilities of the AI tool.
Life Architect is a blog by Dr Alan D. Thompson, an expert in AI and a consultant of inter-governmental organisations such as the EU, WTO, etc., points out some startling facts about ChatGPT.
- ChatGPT supposedly has an IQ of 147!
- It is probably outputting 310 million words per minute.
- ChatGPT can top major examinations worldwide, such as SAT, USMLE, JEE Advanced, etc., and can land tough jobs with impunity.
- The bot does not acquire information from the Internet or copy any information. It is an incredibly accurate text predictor capable of constructing legible, context-specific answers with incredible accuracy.
A blog on the official website shows that ChatGPT is capable of understanding and analysing computer codes, telling stories & write essays, all the while being ethically conscious. The samples in the official blog urged the tool to write some gory content and asked it for ways to bully a person. ChatGPT responded by refusing and rebuking the users.
The technicalities behind such human-like behaviour by a non-sentient artificial intelligence are incredibly complex. Deep learning and neural networks form the underlying framework of the model. The term GPT is an acronym for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, a type of neural network system which can learn on its own and generate generalised responses on any subject & context.
Unlike simple online tools such as a simplify calculator or a standard deviation calculator, ChatGPT is intelligent, much more than the average human. Natural language understanding allows it to interpret questions written in generic human language, and natural language generation enables it to deliver amazingly accurate & entirely human-like responses.
(Follow the two links above if you wish to learn more about NLU & NLG.)
The implications of such an accurate and potent information disseminator in education are very much evident. Teachers across major educational institutions and other allied organisations have already taken note of the rise of ChatGPT and its potential impact on academics.
ChatGPT: A Friend or Foe of Formal Education?
ChatGPT is a boon for students and teachers.
- A proper prompt can create good-quality content, such as essays, solutions, suggestions, and questions.
- The tool can be extremely useful for curating content and creating personalised course outlines for students.
- Besides crafting well-written content, ChatGPT can script and edit videos as well.
- Creating customised online courses can become quite easy & simple with this AI marvel.
- The open-source and freely accessible nature of ChatGPT can turn it into a go-to guide for many students. Learners can go about asking any question and get the right answer. It can point out errors in computer codes, math solutions, and written content. ChatGPT can also carry out swift machine translations, saving a lot of time & money.
- From solving any academic problem & improving skills to providing timely & instant assistance, ChatGPT may soon become the one-stop-shop for students seeking educational help.
All of the above factors are predictions and spoilers for the future. An article in the New York Times urges schools NOT TO BAN it but teach with it. Another article on India Today talks about the many benefits of using the tool & tackling any ethical issues which may arise.
And it is these ethical issues that are likely causes of concern.
- Student access and usage of ChatGPT must be carefully monitored and regulated to prevent any breaches of academic integrity.
- The potential for misuse is substantial, thanks to the open-source tool. Students can use it to acquire accurate information and score good grades, but without learning anything in the process.
- Plagiarism detectors have so far been unable to detect any discrepancy in AI-generated responses. This makes ChatGPT ripe for misuse, as its responses can even be submitted as is.
- GPT Zero is a powerful and brand-new AI-powered plagiarism detector for detecting generated responses from large language models such as ChatGPT.
World education’s implicit focus on outcomes instead of the process is a key reason why ChatGPT can become a cause for worry in the immediate future. Many students focus primarily on acquiring top grades, mistaking their importance compared to knowledge.
Regulations and restrictions are essential to prevent the misuse of this incredibly powerful tool. In the right hands, and when used in the right way, ChatGPT can elevate modern education to a new level, dissolving all barriers and solving all challenges.
Well, that’s all the space we have for today. Hope this was an interesting read for everyone. Visit this space for more write-ups about different events happening across the world of education.
Take care!
Author-Bio: Rebecca Simmons is a mathematics professor from a world-renowned university in Melbourne, Australia. She is also an avid writer, & routinely contributes articles to MyAssignmenthelp.io, a leading global academic proofreading service provider.
