Artifcial Intelligence The Effect on Education

ChatGPT: the artificial intelligence(AI) software that has polarized the academic community. If one asks the AI software a simple question such as “Tell me about your day,” it can create a full explanation in less than a minute.

The AI software launched in late 2022 and took the world by storm. The software has a question box where a user can type any question they have, and the software will create a well-written and human-like response. ChatGPT retains previous information shared in the conversation, yet people remain unsure if there is a limit to how much information the AI software can retain. Many students use the software to write essays and complete homework assignments for them.

“I think it’s absolutely the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It is something where you just can’t look away,” Miami Palmetto Senior High AP World History teacher Julianne Farkas said.

This free software tool has been creating mixed emotions in educational systems throughout the world. New York has already started restricting access to ChatGPT due to worries about negative impacts on a student’s learning.

“There is a lot of uproar in the education community, and it’s almost polarizing. There’s us that believe that ‘okay, this is the future we need to learn how to use it,’ and there’s others who believe that students are just taking the easy way out. Generally, the consensus is this is the new calculator. This is not going anywhere. This is a part of life,” Farkas said.

Educational sources like Turnitin and the College Board have spoken out against the use of AI. In February, Turnitin announced that they created an AI writing detector that can identify up to 97% of ChatGPT and GPT3 written work.

For the College Board, they have presented guidance for AI use in their courses, saying that students are prohibited from using any form of AI “to guide, brainstorm, draft or create student work related to AP assessment.” If a student does this in an AP course it could result in a cancellation of the test score.

“With the College Board, what they should do is obviously penalize [the use of AI] or [they could] want to use heavily. [I think] they should welcome it to an extent. Yes, [there should be] ground rules as to how they actually are used within their classes, but not just completely get rid of it because you can’t reasonably… they should be definitely corporated, especially in a society that’s advancing as fast as we are with technology we should definitely be incorporated one way or another,” MPSH sophomore and Honor Council Member Jean Blandon said.

While incorporating ChatGPT and other AI software could seem taboo to teachers, many view it as a teaching tool that can enhance students’ writing.

“I think it’s a way for it to provide a base for students to begin to write an essay, and then they have to go in there and edit. I think it’s going to teach us to be editors, we’re going to have to know our facts a little bit,” Farkas said

In the educational system, the use of ChatGPT continues to grow due to the constant advancements and exposure to students becoming aware of the “perks” that come with the software. While many reject ChaptGPT, others view it as an opportunity to add it to the academic curriculum along with teaching students how to ethically use the software.

“I think teachers should definitely incorporate it into the classroom since it is inevitable…Because how do you avoid technology that is so powerful? I think it’s best that a teacher explained it to the class and set some ground rules as to how to use it within the classroom,” Blandon said.

The AI software keeps growing and evolving through time and ChatGPT creators OpenAI, already came out with an updated version of the software called GPT-4 which allows for someone to upload photos and ask the software about the photo. OpenAI also announced that the updated software, GPT-4, had taken the bar exam and passed in the ninth percentile compared to when ChatGPT took it and scored in the tenth percentile.

“It’s gonna be interesting, but I think fighting it, is fighting a calculator or the internet for that matter,” Farkas said.

Madeline Volpe Multimedia Editor

m.volpe.thepanther@gmail.com

DESIGN BY MIA SHIELDS

PHOTO BY VALENTINA ARIAS