In previous chapters of TypeRight we have talked about the necessity of teaching the impacts of AI to the public, and the necessity of advanced computer education including AI/ML tools to more students, but today we deal with something else - it is AI that is teaching us. We also have a conversation with ChatGPT to see how self-critical it gets.
No, the title is not a Russian reversal joke, but rather from a collection of new news articles regarding the development of the now publicly available AI tool/kit, the Chat GPT.
It is clearly causing heads to turn in concern:
It seems, along with the surprises and successes of the ChatGPT, it has allowed several college and school students an easy way out of their homework. It also seems to have left their professors perplexed. The following article is from December last year -
"I teach freshman English at a local university, and three of my students turned in chat-bot-written papers this past week. I spent my entire weekend trying to confirm that they were chat-bot-written, then trying to figure out how I'm going to confront them, how I'm going to turn them in as plagiarists, which is what they are, and how I'm going to penalize their grade." This is also from an interview a couple of months ago, which came in Wired Magazine.
Here is a more recent article from the India Today, explaining how the tool has been integrated into the popular online learning platform, Khan Academy under the name Khanmigo (although currently limited to users from the US)
The fear seems to be two-pronged - is this the end of teaching and teachers as we know it? Will people lose their jobs?
Noam Chomsky, a renowned linguist and cognitive scientist, has criticized GPT and similar language models for lacking a true understanding of language and context. He argues that these models are based on statistical patterns and do not have a real understanding of the underlying structure and meaning of language. Calling it "high-tech plagiarism," he argues that GPT and similar models are based on a "statistical learning" approach to language, which focuses on finding patterns in large amounts of data without necessarily understanding the underlying rules and principles. He believes that this approach is limited and cannot fully capture the complexity and richness of language. Chomsky has also expressed concern about the impact of these models on society, particularly in terms of their potential to reinforce biases and stereotypes that are present in the data they are trained on.
Chomsky's argument is grounded on his years of work as a linguist, but the problems regarding the assignments remain. So naturally, we went back to the ChatGPT it (/them)self, and asked Chat GPT what the public has to say.
The use of ChatGPT or similar AI-powered tools to automate school assignments is a relatively new development, and the public discourse on this topic is still evolving. However, there are a few different perspectives that have emerged:
Supporters of the use of ChatGPT argue that it can help students learn more efficiently and effectively by providing them with instant feedback and guidance. They also point out that the technology can help teachers save time and focus on other aspects of their job.
Opponents of the use of ChatGPT argue that it can lead to cheating and undermine the value of education. They argue that using AI to complete assignments means that students are not truly learning and that it sets them up for failure in the long run.
Some people have raised concerns about the potential biases and inaccuracies in the data that ChatGPT is trained on, which could result in the generation of incorrect or inappropriate responses.
Others have expressed concern about the potential impact of AI-powered tools on the job market, arguing that widespread automation of tasks like school assignments could lead to widespread job losses and economic disruption.
Overall, the public discourse on ChatGPT being used to automate school assignments is still in its early stages, and there are a variety of different perspectives and concerns being raised. It is likely that this debate will continue as the technology becomes more widespread and its impact on education becomes more apparent.
Q: So how do you think AI will potentially change the way we teach?
A: The use of AI-powered tools like ChatGPT in education has the potential to revolutionize the way we learn and teach. Here are some possible ways in which education could change in the future with the help of AI:
Personalized Learning: With AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, students can receive personalized learning experiences that cater to their individual learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses. This can help students learn at their own pace and improve their understanding of concepts.
Adaptive Learning: AI-powered tools can track a student's progress and adjust the difficulty level of the material based on their performance. This can ensure that students are always challenged but not overwhelmed.
Intelligent Tutoring: AI-powered tutoring systems can provide students with instant feedback, guidance, and explanations when they get stuck on a problem. This can help students learn more efficiently and effectively.
Remote Learning: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of remote learning. With the help of AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, remote learning can become more engaging, interactive, and effective.
Lifelong Learning: AI-powered tools can provide individuals with personalized learning experiences throughout their lives, helping them acquire new skills and knowledge as the world around them changes.
Overall, the future of education with AI-powered tools like ChatGPT looks promising. However, it is important to remember that technology is only a tool, and human teachers will continue to play a vital role in education.
Q: With ChatGPT being used to run automated tutorials, what is the future of education like?
A: The use of AI-powered tools like ChatGPT in education has the potential to revolutionize the way we learn and teach. Here are some possible ways in which education could change in the future with the help of AI:
Personalized Learning: With AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, students can receive personalized learning experiences that cater to their individual learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses. This can help students learn at their own pace and improve their understanding of concepts.
Adaptive Learning: AI-powered tools can track a student's progress and adjust the difficulty level of the material based on their performance. This can ensure that students are always challenged but not overwhelmed.
Intelligent Tutoring: AI-powered tutoring systems can provide students with instant feedback, guidance, and explanations when they get stuck on a problem. This can help students learn more efficiently and effectively.
Remote Learning: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of remote learning. With the help of AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, remote learning can become more engaging, interactive, and effective.
Lifelong Learning: AI-powered tools can provide individuals with personalized learning experiences throughout their lives, helping them acquire new skills and knowledge as the world around them changes.
Overall, the future of education with AI-powered tools like ChatGPT looks promising. However, it is important to remember that technology is only a tool, and human teachers will continue to play a vital role in education.
Q: So can we argue there be possible benefits of using GPT to write my assignment?
A: Supporters of the use of ChatGPT to automate school assignments argue that the technology has the potential to help students learn more efficiently and effectively. Here are some of the main arguments that they make:
Instant Feedback: ChatGPT can provide students with instant feedback on their work, helping them identify their mistakes and improve their understanding of the material. This can help students learn more quickly and effectively than if they had to wait for a teacher to grade their work.
Personalized Learning: ChatGPT can provide personalized learning experiences for students, catering to their individual learning styles and needs. This can help students learn at their own pace and improve their understanding of concepts.
Time Savings: ChatGPT can help teachers save time by automating some of the grading and feedback processes. This can free up teachers to focus on other aspects of their job, such as lesson planning and individual student support.
Accessibility: ChatGPT can help make education more accessible to students who may have difficulty with traditional teaching methods. For example, students with learning disabilities or language barriers may find it easier to engage with ChatGPT than with a traditional teacher.
They did point out the pitfalls, too.
It's worth noting, however, that while there are certainly benefits to using ChatGPT to automate school assignments, there are also potential downsides and concerns that need to be addressed. As I mentioned earlier, opponents of the technology argue that it can lead to cheating and undermine the value of education, while others have raised concerns about potential biases and inaccuracies in the data that ChatGPT is trained on.
They're not wrong about the biases, and while you can scroll back to a previous TypeRight on biases of AI in general, these few articles point out how GPT has been caught being racist or sexist, possibly based on the general populace of the internet.
Now, we at Digital Empowerment Foundation work on making connectivity and information accessible to the masses. So next we asked GPT what it can do about students with little access to connectivity.
ChatGPT, being an AI-powered tool, requires an internet connection to function. Therefore, it may not be an ideal solution for students who have limited access to connectivity. However, there are a few ways in which ChatGPT could potentially be used to support these students:
Offline Versions: While ChatGPT itself requires an internet connection, it may be possible to develop offline versions of the tool that can be downloaded and used without an internet connection. These versions would have limited functionality compared to the online version, but they could still be used to provide basic feedback and guidance to students.
Low-Bandwidth Versions: Another option would be to develop a low-bandwidth version of ChatGPT that can be used on slow or unreliable internet connections. This version would be designed to use as little data as possible, making it accessible to students who have limited connectivity.
Supporting Other Tools: ChatGPT could also be used in conjunction with other tools that are more accessible to students with limited connectivity, such as text-based messaging services or low-bandwidth learning management systems. In these cases, ChatGPT could provide feedback and guidance via text-based messages, which can be sent and received even on slow or unreliable connections.
It's important to note that these solutions are not perfect and may not be suitable for all students with limited connectivity. However, they do represent some possible ways in which ChatGPT could be used to support these students, and they highlight the need for continued innovation and development in the field of educational technology.
The future of learning does not seem too bleak here - an offline version, or a less bandwidth heavy version could come in handy for the several million children in the margins of internet and education - not to copy assignments, but rather to get quick, condensed information.
DEF has already worked on some similar projects, for people in low connectivity areas to learn about financial inclusion -and maybe in the future, GPT-4 could be integrated to make it work even better.
So finally, we asked the pertinent question: "Do you think ChatGPT in education will cause teachers to lose their jobs"
As an AI language model, I do not have personal beliefs or opinions. However, I can provide some information on the potential impact of ChatGPT on teaching jobs.
While the use of ChatGPT to automate certain tasks in education may reduce the workload of teachers, it is unlikely to completely replace them. Teaching involves many tasks beyond grading assignments and providing feedback, such as creating lesson plans, facilitating class discussions, providing individualized support to students, and more. These are tasks that ChatGPT is not currently equipped to handle.
Furthermore, the use of ChatGPT may create new opportunities for teachers to enhance their teaching methods and incorporate AI-powered tools into their classrooms. Teachers can work alongside ChatGPT to analyze student performance, track progress, and provide targeted interventions for individual students.
In addition, it is important to recognize that teaching is a highly interpersonal profession that requires emotional intelligence and human connection. While ChatGPT can provide helpful feedback and guidance to students, it cannot replicate the unique relationships that teachers develop with their students.
Overall, while ChatGPT may change the nature of some teaching tasks and require teachers to adapt to new technologies, it is unlikely to completely replace teachers in the classroom. Rather, it may create new opportunities for collaboration and innovation between teachers and AI-powered tools.
If you've been following the way ChatGPT answers, you'll see easily that the structure is quite predictable. And that is by design, because GPT uses a prediction model - most content it produces will be quite predictable. This is how one of the creators behind GPT have already come up with a tool to check if content is created by GPT.
And even assuming better training leads to less predictable text generation, there can be some pedagogical takeaways:
"a student in New Zealand confessed to using AI to write their papers, justifying it as a tool like Grammarly or spell-check: “I have the knowledge, I have the lived experience, I’m a good student, I go to all the tutorials and I go to all the lectures and I read everything we have to read but I kind of felt I was being penalised because I don’t write eloquently and I didn’t feel that was right,”
Or rather, use AI creatively - instead of writing essays, this educator suggests we have a debate with the AI written ones - something equally engaging.
Or, as another educator pointed out in a response to Chomsky's editorial on the NYTimes,
ChatGPT is a top-notch new learning tool. It even has the potential to break writer’s block. Why are schools pushing back? Some fear cheating, as though rectitude were more important than learning. Consider this. Assign students to have ChatGPT write a paper. Then, ask those students to critique the resulting essay by standards of logic, bias, scholarship, content, style and creative thinking. After that, ask the students to rewrite the paper to overcome the shortcomings that their critique has disclosed. I can’t think of a better way to teach better thinking, better writing and better research than by having human students critique a machine-written essay.
We'll end today's piece with same sentence he ended - "Let’s have faith in our human species."
Other News
In new surveillance news from Hyderabad, from Srinivas Kodali:
However in some relief to people who have been facing issues regarding Aadhaar, which is becoming mandatory for almost every scheme:
Parallelly, however, this new update could also be an issue:
New report also shows an expected increase in internet users, although the numbers still leave out close to half the population.
Two updates on censorship, one controversial about the limits of freedom of speech and spreading hatred - from the USA, and the other from India:
Updates after the disinformation campaign in Tamil Nadu had spread hate between communities:
And finally, some judicial recognition of the disinformation and fake news campaigns:
DEF Updates
From DEF's STEM and MakerSpace workshops:
And DEF's Abner Manzar reports on two stories where our Digital Centers are helping bridge the digital divide:
Here's a totebag summary of our report "The Impact of Recruiting Women Entrepreneurs on Reducing Mission Drift":
We'll be back next week with more stories from the margins of the internet!
Kindly support to fight digital divide and connect marginalised people. Donate here https://www.defindia.org/donate-page/
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