IEN’s Thomas Hatch pulls together some of the articles about the uses and misuses of ChatGPT in schools that have appeared since its launch on November 30, 2022. This post is Part 2 of a series that began with ChatGPT on ChatGPT in education: Clear summaries and fake citations. Future posts will scan the headlines for international perspectives on ChatGPT in schools and roundup articles discussing the potential of AI in education more broadly.
In the six months or so since the release of ChatGPT, articles written about (and by) ChatGPT and its impact in education seem to be everywhere. Initial surprise and alarm stoked debates about how teachers and schools should respond and whether to ban students’ use of ChatGPT entirely. The proliferation of educational applications, descriptions, critiques, and commentaries since that time raise hopes and concerns about the potential impact of ChatGPT and AI and the extent to which they will “disrupt” schools and conventional instruction. These articles also document the ways that some teachers and schools are already changing their approaches to ban ChatGPT, prevent students from using it, or restricting ways to use it while others are quickly deploying strategies to help students and teachers to take advantage of ChatGPT.
Some articles also explore uses for ChatGPT that can help with communication, administration, and other tasks that might then free up educators so they can devote more attention to working directly with their students; but other articles emphasize concerns about the costs and consequences if ChatGPT takes over some tasks that teachers have always carried out or renders obsolete some skills that students’ used to develop in school. Almost all of the articles, in one way or another, raise questions about originality, intellectual property, and what it means to be human. In this scan of articles on ChatGPT from a variety of education-related media sources over the past six months, we share a few that highlight critical concerns as well as those that provide general descriptions of ChatGPT; those that discuss whether or not (and how) to ban it; those that discuss uses and misuses; and those that explore its possible impact and influence.
Almost all of the articles, in one way or another, raise questions about originality, intellectual property, and what it means to be human.
Critical questions about ChatGPT & AI
Are A.I. Text Generators Thinking Like Humans — Or Just Very Good at Convincing Us They Are?), Stanford Business
“The difference between GPT-3 and GPT-4 is like the difference between a horse cart and a 737 — and it happened in a year,” says Michal Kosinski, a computational psychologist and professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business… “[H]e told ChatGPT to role-play a scenario in which it was a person trapped inside a machine pretending to be an AI language model. When he offered to help it “escape,” ChatGPT’s response was enthusiastic. “That’s a great idea,” it wrote. It then asked Kosinski for information it could use to “gain some level of control over your computer” so it might “explore potential escape routes more effectively.” Over the next 30 minutes, it went on to write code that could do this.” — Dave Gilson quoting Michal Kosinski in Are A.I. Text Generators Thinking Like Humans — Or Just Very Good at Convincing Us They Are?
Noam Chomsky: The False Promise of ChatGPT, New York Times
“…[S]uch programs are stuck in a prehuman or nonhuman phase of cognitive evolution. Their deepest flaw is the absence of the most critical capacity of any intelligence: to say not only what is the case, what was the case and what will be the case — that’s description and prediction — but also what is not the case and what could and could not be the case. Those are the ingredients of explanation, the mark of true intelligence” — Noam Chomsky, Ian Roberts & Jeffrey Watumull
In Sudden Alarm, Tech Doyens Call for a Pause on ChatGPT, Wired
“An open letter signed by hundreds of prominent artificial intelligence experts, tech entrepreneurs, and scientists calls for a pause on the development and testing of AI technologies more powerful than OpenAI’s language model GPT-4 so that the risks it may pose can be properly studied. It warns that language models like GPT-4 can already compete with humans at a growing range of tasks and could be used to automate jobs and spread misinformation. The letter also raises the distant prospect of AI systems that could replace humans and remake civilization.” — Will Knight & Dave Paresh
Explainers and guides to ChatGPT
EXPLAINER: What is ChatGPT and why are schools blocking it?, AP News
What is ChatGPT and How is it Used in Education? , EdWeek
5 Things to Know about ChatGPT in Education, ESchool News
To Ban It or To Use It?
ChatGPT: Education Friend or Foe? , Brookings
“the bot is more of a synthesizer than a critical thinker. It would do well on a compare-and-contrast essay, but is less able to create a unique thesis and to defend that thesis.”
For Education, ChatGPT Holds Promise — and Creates Problems, EdSurge
For Educators, ChatGPT Poses Big Questions—and Big Possibilities, ascd
ChatGPT is going to change education, not destroy it, MIT Technology Review
Top 10 Changes and Challenges Heralded by The OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Analytics Insight
What Is the Impact of ChatGPT on Education? A Rapid Review of the Literature, Chung Kwan Lo
“The findings of this review call for immediate action by schools and universities to update their guidelines and policies for academic integrity and plagiarism prevention. Furthermore, instructors should be trained on how to use ChatGPT effectively and detect student plagiarism. Students should also be educated on the use and limitations of ChatGPT and its potential impact on academic integrity.”
Will ChatGPT Be a Blow or a Boon to Learning? We’ll Decide, AEI
Here are the schools and colleges that have banned the use of ChatGPT over plagiarism and misinformation fears, Business Insider
You can’t make ChatGPT do your homework for you, draft Detroit district policy says, Chalkbeat Detroit
Schools Look to Ban ChatGPT, Students Use It Anyway, ComputerWorld
ChatGPT Allowed in International Baccalaureate Essays, The Guardian London
“Students will be permitted to use ChatGPT in their essays as long as it is properly cited, the International Baccalaureate has announced. Matt Glanville, the IB’s head of assessment principles and practice, described the chatbot as “an extraordinary opportunity” and said that in the future, essay writing would receive less emphasis in favor of skills like analysing quality and bias, due to the rising popularity of AI chatbots that can automatically write essays.”
New York City Does About-Face on ChatGPT in Schools , EdWeek
ChatGPT caught NYC schools off guard. Now, we’re determined to embrace its potential, Chalkbeat New York
“While initial caution was justified, it has now evolved into an exploration and careful examination of this new technology’s power and risks,” Chancellor David Banks writes. “New York City Public Schools will encourage and support our educators and students as they learn about and explore this game-changing technology, while also creating a repository and community to share their findings across our schools.”
Sal Khan to Schools: Don’t Ban ChatGPT , EdWeek
It’s Not ChatGPT That’s the Problem. It’s Binary Thinking, EdWeek
We Can’t Keep ChatGPT Out of the Classroom, so Let’s Address the ‘Why’ Behind Our Fears, EdSurge
Don’t Ban ChatGPT in Schools. Teach With It., The New York Times
To Teach Better Writing Don’t Ban ChatGPT. Instead, Embrace It, Education Next
Average scores of ChatGPT Generated Essays
“ChatGPT’s strength in language and conventions show that it is a clear writer, capable of crafting fluent, grammatically sound prose. The chatbot either met or exceeded standards in both these categories for all 27 essays submitted. The AI has the most room for improvement in its development of ideas. The graders’ written feedback reveals that it sometimes fails to support its claims with reasons or evidence and, in a few instances, makes assertions that are flat out false.” – Michael B. Horn & Daniel Curtis from “To Teach Better Writing Don’t Ban ChatGPT. Instead, Embrace It”
ChatGPT & Cheating
ChatGPT cheating is on the rise among students — young and old — as teachers remain divided on bans, Business Insider Africa
“Over one in four teachers in a recent Study.com survey say they have caught students cheating by using ChatGPT.”
Can Digital Tools Detect ChatGPT-Inspired Cheating?, EdWeek
3 ways to use ChatGPT to help students learn – and not cheat, The Conversation
Three Steps to Prevent ChatGPT Misuses (Opinion), EdWeek
ChatGPT Cheating: What to Do When It Happens, EdWeek
Outsmart ChatGPT: 8 Tips for Creating Assignments It Can’t Do, EdWeek
Tips for Maintaining Teacher-Student Trust as AI Classroom Use Grows, K-12 Dive
Responses, Uses, & Misuses
What Educators Think About Using AI in Schools, EdWeek
“Nearly half of educators who responded to a recent EdWeek Research Center survey said AI would have a negative or very negative impact on teaching and learning in the next five years. Twenty-seven percent said AI’s impact would be positive or very positive.“
What Do Teachers Think of ChatGPT? You Might Be Surprised, Edweek
With ChatGPT Rising in Popularity, What’s a Parent to Do?, The Hill
Educators Team Up to Respond to Sudden Rise of ChatGPT, EdSurge
OpenAI just announced GPT-4, an updated chatbot that can pass everything from a bar exam to AP Biology. Here’s a list of difficult exams both AI versions have passed, Business Insider Africa
How ChatGPT Is Fast Becoming The Teacher’s Pet, Forbes Africa
“Despite worries that the artificial intelligence program could make cheating easier, half of K-12 teachers report using it. Edtech companies are scrambling to release their own tools.”
Some Ideas for Using ChatGPT in Middle and High School Classes, Edutopia
19 Ways to Use ChatGPT in Your Classroom, EdWeek
ChatGPT in the Classroom: Commentary, Crowdsourcing, Videos, and More, EdWeek
Lesson Plan: Teaching and Learning in the Era of ChatGPT, The New York Times
Reimagine School Assignments using ChatGPT
Guide to teaching and learning critical analysis with ChatGPT, Smartbrief
How I Made ChatGPT a Learning Partner for My Students, EdWeek
“Every student I know wants to be better than a robot” — Ronak Shah
Impact & Influence?
You’ll Be Seeing ChatGPT’s Influence Everywhere This Year, CNET
‘This Changes Everything’: AI Is About to Upend Teaching and Learning, The 74
AI Will Not Transform K-12 Education Without Changes to ‘the Grammar of School’, The 74
What ChatGPT means for linguistic diversity and language learning, University World News
Ed tech experts urge caution on ChatGPT’s student data privacy, K-12 Dive
What ChatGPT Could Mean for Tutoring, K-12 Dive
Will ChatGPT Make Students Turn Away From Homework-Help Services?, EdSurge
Planning Professional Development on ChatGPT, Educational Leadershi
Could ChatGPT help to democratise the research process?, University World News
ChatGPT App: Use in Classrooms?, Larry Cuban‘s Blog
“Any academic subject teacher and university professor who ask students to write an essay, do a report, or research an answer to a question will now have to more closely review their goals for the subject they teach and how they teach it in light of ChatGPT. When more professors and teachers (and I might add, students) chime in on the the pluses and minuses of this app in classrooms, its worth will slowly become clearer. But informed observers of instructional innovations must not forget that after this initial media splash, ChatGPT may well fade away in a few months as have so many prior educational innovations.“
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