CHAT GPT FROM A STUDENTS VIEW

Have you ever watched those horror Sci-Fi films where artificial intelligence takes over the world then suddenly humans become obsolete?

With the introduction of ChatGPT, an AI tool accessible to everyone that is able to plan out your meals for the week and write your essay homework, many are wondering if these films have predicted the future.

Many colleges and universities are nervous about what the implications of an accessible artificial intelligence tool may mean for the efficacy of student assignments. A survey done by Best Colleges reports that only about one third of students say their college has banned access to ChatGPT. This limitation, or outright ban, of ChatGPT comes after its artificial intelligence passed a graduate-level exam at universities in Minnesota and Pennsylvania as reported by US Today.

While many colleges are not explicitly banning the use of AI, some colleges have integrated software that was actually created by the inventors of ChatGPT, AI text classifier, to detect the use of artificial intelligence tools in student’s work. With all the panic surrounding ChatGPT from colleges and universities about how students will use it to cheat on class assignments, what are the students saying about this new, robust tool?

A New York Times article, “What Students Are Saying About ChatGPT,” listed several reasons some students are against AI.

“Students worry we’ll lose our creativity and critical thinking skills if we rely on chatbots” and “some think AI has no place in education because it inhibits learning” are among students’ reasoning for not utilizing the new technology.

As for using ChatGPT for cheating, that same Best Colleges survey cites that 50% of students use Chat GPT in order to aid in the completion of assignments but infuse the content from A.I. with their own thoughts. In that same survey, nine out of ten students have only used ChatGPT out of pure curiosity or for personal projects.

ChatGPT certainly opens the door for unethical applications in school work. However, surveys done across many platforms and interviews with students across the nation prove that college students agree with their higher education that using it to complete assignments should be considered cheating. With an influx of companies utilizing the power of artificial intelligence such as

Microsoft, Google, Canva and even Adobe, it may in fact be beneficial for students to be educated not only on its ethical boundaries but also on its practical application. The rising of artificial intelligence does not have to be as scary as those Sci-Fi films if we learn how to work alongside it, learn what its limitations are and define the boundaries of usage.

BY KIRSTEN BOU