The Center for eLearning Initiatives has been following the explosion of discussion around the use of artificial intelligence (AI), specifically ChatGPT, in higher education. In the article below, we give a brief overview of what ChatGPT is and how to use it. Next, we have provided an example of what the bot can do by sharing a response that it produced based on a prompt that we gave it. Lastly, we share a few recommendations for what you can do right now and how to continue to follow this ever-evolving conversation.
What is ChatGPT and how do I use it?
ChatGPT-3 was launched as a free, open access web-based software. ChatGPT is described by Wikipedia as “a chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022. It is built on top of OpenAI’s GPT-3 family of large language models and has been fine-tuned using both supervised and reinforcement learning techniques.”
You can visit the website https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/ to use the bot. It does require you to make an account to be able to interact with the bot, though as stated your account is free at this time. If you are able to enter the site (it is frequently at capacity), you can then type in any prompt you’d like and get a response within seconds that is anywhere from a few sentences to several paragraphs in length.
What does ChatGPT have to say about AI in education?
In preparing this post, we turned to ChatGPT for help. We gave the system the prompt, “Write a blog post about the recent explosion of concerns related to artificial intelligence in higher education.” The following section was generated by ChatGPT as a response.
One of the biggest concerns about AI in higher education is the potential for job displacement. As AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, there is a growing fear that many jobs will be automated, leaving people without work. This is particularly true in fields that require repetitive tasks, such as data entry or customer service, which can be easily performed by AI systems.
Another concern is the impact of AI on the skills and knowledge required for success in the workforce. As AI takes over certain tasks, it is likely that the skills required for many jobs will change. For example, workers may need to be proficient in programming and data analysis, rather than just basic computer skills. This could result in a skills gap, where workers are unable to adapt to the changing demands of the job market, and employers are unable to find workers with the skills they need.
Moreover, the rapid pace of technological advancement in AI is making it difficult for institutions of higher education to keep up. Educators must ensure that their curriculums are up-to-date and that they are preparing students for the jobs of the future. This is a challenging task, given the rapidly evolving nature of AI and the complex ethical and legal implications of the technology.
To address these concerns, many institutions of higher education are investing in AI research and development. By collaborating with companies and researchers in the field, institutions can gain a deeper understanding of the technology and its potential impact on the workforce. This can help institutions develop new programs and courses that will equip students with the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing job market.
In conclusion, the recent explosion of concerns related to AI in higher education highlights the need for institutions to proactively prepare for the impact of the technology on the workforce. By investing in AI research and development, and ensuring that curriculums are up-to-date, institutions can help students and workers adapt to the changing demands of the job market and ensure a bright future for all.
The current dilemma…
We share this example of a ChatGPT output to demonstrate its uncanny ability to generate well-developed written language. There seems to currently be two mindsets related to the use of AI in the classroom – ban it or embrace it. Students at other institutions have found themselves in situations where they are accused of violating academic integrity for submitting assignments that were generated by the bot. Some faculty are incorporating into their class assignments so that they can help students to develop the questioning skills needed to maximize on the outputs it produces.
While we can certainly understand both sides of the ban it or embrace it dilemma, we do have a few recommendations if you are looking for next steps on how to live in the post-ChatGPT world.
- Visit the website and interact with the bot.
Trying the tool out is the best way to understand it and decide how you might want to proceed. - Test some of your class materials (discussion boards, test questions) in the bot.
We suggest you see if the bot can be used to answer questions in your course in order to determine whether it might be a potential issue for you or your students in the future. - Consider revising assignments to lessen the chance that the bot can be used to produce submissions.
Possible ideas for revising assignments include asking students to reference specific class materials, include unique life experiences related to the content, or reflect on their learning and share their thought process related to their learning.
Keeping up with the conversation
There are a plethora of resources available around this topic. There are so many, and they are ever changing, so we have tried to collate these resources. If you’d like to view a timeline of the big boom of AI into education, please visit our Artificial Intelligence Timeline page. We have collected a few items to provide a historical view of AI in education with special emphasis on the more recent articles related to ChatGPT. Because it is a quickly evolving tool, we will continue to update the timeline. We also suggest visiting your favorite educational podcast because many of them have produced episodes about ChatGPT. HarvardEdcast, Teaching in Higher Ed, and TOPcast all have insightful episodes discussing ChatGPT and AI in education.
