Is artificial intelligence taking the work out of homework?

Since November, students have had access to Open-AI’s free Dialogue Language Model called ChatGPT. Being trained on millions of books, it is able to function as a conversation partner, dictionary, and most importantly, an essay-writer. 

Clearly, the ability to cheat is on our minds.

A TikTok video by user @syntheticmind.io shows ChatGPT writing a 4 paragraph essay on Moby Dick for them. 

The general feeling is not positive toward ChatGPT. Country Day has already blocked ChaptGPT from the school internet. A program developed in Princeton called GPTZero can also detect AI written text.  An English teacher is already making more in-class writing assignments to combat ChatGPT. 

The ability to have an AI write an essay in seconds is one that Teachers at Country Day, and around the nation are reacting to. 

However, I’ve started to think of its potential as a learning tool to help students who could benefit from learning in a less traditional way. It has the ability to impart knowledge about a topic in a brief and gamified way. If a student doesn’t understand a topic, they can ask the AI to explain it in a simple way, for example “Explain Quantum Physics like I’m 5”. The incredible versatility of AI written dialogue means that information can be modified to be digested by any potential learner. 

Teachers might think of implementing it to make school more equitable for those who suffer from learning disabilities. “Differentiating between situations where using ChatGPT is appropriate to use vs. situations in which its use is inappropriate will be an important skill as we see it being used more widely,” says Mr. Brown. 

That is a great way to phrase it. If used correctly, ChaptGPT and the sort will be great tools for education. However, schools shouldn’t establish a reliance on it to teach our students. A healthy balance is the best way to move forward in this new age of education.