The advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has always made sections of people worldwide a bit uneasy — it seems “not right” to many. The latest from the AI stable adding to their fears is ChatGPT, which is a chatbot released by Microsoft-owned start-up, OpenAI, in November 2022.
ChatGPT, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a large language model (LLM) software that uses machine learning algorithms to generate responses based on the inputs it receives. The scary (or exciting) thing about it is that it can bring about a tectonic change in education, code writing, journalism, and the like.
The good, the bad, and the ugly of ChatGPT
If a student were to ask ChatGPT to write a paper on how to improve the education system of, say, a country like India, it can churn out a fairly intelligent essay in a matter of minutes. ChatGPT can conduct conversations and answer questions, write stories, summarize articles, translate languages, and perform many other linguistic tasks. It is even supposed to solve complex math problems.
And therein lies the crunch — should an AI chatbot be allowed to replace traditional education? Higher education, in particular, involves a lot of hard work, research, analysis, deep learning, comprehension, memorizing, and so on and so forth. Is it ethical to substitute actual learning with ChatGPT-enabled quick-fix solutions?
The fact of the matter is that ChatGPT is neither the silver bullet for dodging all hard work and homework nor the scary and monstrous creation that traditionalists love to fear. It has a good side and a flip side, and people need to embrace its strengths and find ways and means to circumvent its negatives.
Without a doubt, ChatGPT is a useful tool for students who want help with their homework or school projects. It can help students learn about new subjects, as it provides interesting and engaging information on myriad topics.
Another huge advantage it offers is that students from economically challenged backgrounds can get assistance without having to depend on private tutors and tuition. Students need not depend too much on teachers and can initiate the learning process on their own.
But it is not all rosy — ChatGPT comes with its own set of problems. While it does enable students to do away with tedious research and hard work, it cannot be depended upon to always give accurate responses. It has been known to provide wrong answers, throw up inaccurate results, and churn out write-ups that may sound plausible at first glance but are, in fact, very superficial.
Besides, ChatGPT poses a very real threat of hampering the logical thinking of students, and, ultimately, stunting their mental growth. Taking frequent recourse to ChatGPT can result in students not really learning anything and merely taking shortcuts to education.
It’s not for nothing that OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, himself said on Twitter that it is a mistake to rely on ChatGPT for anything important. That said, it is unrealistic to expect people, particularly students, to shun the tool simply because it may provide inaccurate results and may make them lazy. If it’s out there, people will use it regardless of whether it is to their benefit or detriment. After all, access to it is just a click away. Perhaps this is where the collective conscience can come to humanity’s rescue.
