EDITORIAL

“ChatGPT is just another example of why we can’t keep doing things the old way for schools in the modern world.” Agreed on by a majority of K-12 teachers and students surveyed by the Walton Family Foundation, this statement is a response to the release of ChatGPT back in late November 2022. The artificial intelligence model developed by OpenAI has received international attention for its ability to interact with users along with other advanced capabilities.  The software is designed to generate human-like answers to a wide range of inputs entered by  the user. Users can ask the AI virtually any question and the AI can perform tasks ranging from writing essays and poems to translating texts and even solving coding problems. Additionally, the bot remembers previous dialogue, allowing  users to ask follow-up questions. The chatbot derives its answers from a plethora of resources on the internet; consequently, ChatGPT has its flaws. In a tweet, OpenAI’s Chief Executive, Sam Altman argued that it would be “a mistake” to be relying on ChatGPT for anything remotely important right now. From the vast array of information available on the internet, the chatbot essentially compiles results from different sources to form a coherent answer, usually plagued with factual errors. Along with the mass recognition it received, ChatGPT has been widely denounced as a free test-taking, essay writing tool that has made it possible for students to plagiarize in a new way; it has also garnered varying degrees of reaction from educators, many of whom are voicing their disappointment. Jenna Lyle, a spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Education, told the Washington Post that ChatGPT “does not build critical-­thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success.” Educators believe that ChatGPT will undermine the foundation of education, and efforts to restrict access to OpenAI’s chatbot from students have been issued in various school districts and universities across the world. New York City public schools, for example, recently blocked access to ChatGPT on school computers and networks, citing “concerns about negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content.” 

Despite concerns about whether students are using ChatGPT to cheat on assignments, some educators argue otherwise; many teachers believe that the use of technology in teaching could actually help improve education. By becoming aware of the potential benefits and misuse of ChatGPT’s capabilities, teachers can learn how to apply the platform to their classrooms. Some schools and teachers are beginning to embrace ChatGPT as a teaching aid—one that supports teachers by making lessons more interactive, generating personalized lesson plans, and saving time on administrative tasks. Teachers are also turning to ChatGPT for fresh, innovative ways for students to learn more effectively. Jessica Stansbury, director of teaching and learning excellence at the University of Baltimore, recounts an activity used in a workshop: teachers ask students to use ChatGPT to generate text on a topic and then get them to point out the flaws. “We’ve long wanted to transform education,” says Helen Crompton, an associate professor of instructional technology at Old Dominion University. In a system with excessive focus on grades—and not enough on learning—ChatGPT is forcing a debate that is long overdue. In Crompton’s view, if ChatGPT makes it easy to cheat on an assignment, teachers should discard the assignment altogether rather than ban the chatbot. As Dustin York, an associate professor of communication at Maryville University, points out, "Educators thought that Google, Wikipedia, and the internet itself would ruin education, but they did not … It's a tool, not a villain."

With busy schedules, filled by sports and extracurricular activities and homework, quizzes, and tests from various classes that accumulate throughout the week, students often find themselves in a tight situation with a deadline at midnight and an unfinished assignment. As a result, many may find it tempting to turn to ChatGPT or a similar AI techbot to finish their assignment in a matter of seconds, as opposed to staying up late to finish their assignments. Using ChatGPT or any other AI sites is considered a violation of the Bryn Mawr Honor Code, as it is a form of plagiarism and constitutes misconduct no differently from the plagiarism of existing works; using ChatGPT will be considered the same as that copying and pasting text from the Internet without credit.Instead of turning to an AI chatbot, students should not be afraidto reach out to your teachers for any guidance or for requesting an extension on an assignment—they would be more than happy to help. Teachers should embrace ChatGPT as a tool that enhances education and learning, aimed to make teaching effective and engaging for students.