Accept AI

Instead of banning ChatGPT in education, it should be used to enhance learning

ORIANA LUKAS | opinions with oriana

Civilization is constantly evolving. There’s a never-ending cycle of innovations that re-shape society from generation to generation. Technology has advanced rapidly in the last century with the mass popularization of many technological advancements such as computers, the internet, bluetooth and smartphones.

After each launch, there’s generally a sense of concern of the damage this new invention could potentially create. Society tends to reject these new technologies that pose a threat to substitute humanity, according to Calestous Juma, former executive secretary for UN Convention on Biological Diversity, in an article in the World Economic Forum.

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is no different.

Though many of the concerns that revolve around AI are valid and there should be various laws and repercussions made, society must acknowledge that AI will continue to advance regardless of people’s concerns — so people should try to accept it rather than defying it.

With the popularization of ChatGPT, AI — technology that can complete tasks typically done by humans — has become a hot topic. ChatGPT was released Nov. 30, 2022, and is part of a set of technologies designed by the San Francisco-based startup, OpenAI. ChatGPT is a free online chatbot that specializes in computing essays, business plans, code and translations. The chatbot uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) and retrieves its data from textbooks, websites and various articles. It can do a human’s work in seconds. Unsurprisingly, there’s been a whirlwind of concern from the general public about what this means for the future of learning, day-to-day tasks and the functionality of jobs.

Technology has already started to replace jobs. For example, in most dining areas on JMU campus, kiosks have replaced workers taking orders. AI and ChatGPT are predicted to do something similar. In a CBS article about the replacement of clerical and administrative jobs by ChatGPT. ChatGPT has been proven to write such documents at a higher proficiency than people, indicating the possible termination of those positions.

Though the idea of a bot taking over certain jobs is unsettling, there are other working professionals who’ve stated they utilize the bot to help improve their work. Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of online provider Coursera, told CBS he treats the bot like a member of his team.

“I ask ChatGPT to become aware of where my biases and blindspots might be, and the answers it gives are a really, really good starting point to check your thinking,” said Maggioncalda.

Another major concern is ethical questions concerning education: Should students be allowed to use ChatGPT for their schoolwork? Can they cite it? If students are prohibited, can