ATLANTA — School systems all over Georgia are educating teachers and students about ChatGPT, and with the first full year underway with the service up and running, some educators are concerned that ChatGPT will be misused and become a source of cheating.
The system uses artificial intelligence to chat with its others through its web-based or app format. Whereas Adults are using it to help plan vacations or get ideas for recipes. Students are using it in a variety of other ways.
One 8th grader and Swiftie, named Annie, used to service to convince her mom to buy her tickets to Taylor Switft's concert. In her defense, her parents only required she use her first name.
Annie used the feature through Snapchat, explaining to the AI-powered chat service what she wanted and why, which prompted it to start asking follow-up questions.
“It was like, name two points about why you want to go,” Annie said.
In seconds, ChatGPT provided her with a compelling letter to give her mom.
“It hit all the big points about why I would want to go, and I think it’s very convincing, Annie said. “My mom would have a hard time saying no to that.”
Students all over the world are having a hard time saying “no” to the lure of ChatGPT, and like any advancing technology, Derek Wilson, dean of technology at Greater Atlanta Christian, said more education is needed.
“There’s a useful place for it but we don’t want it to replace genuine teaching and learning,” said Wilson.
And at the same time, students should know that allowing ChatGPT to do all the work comes with the risk of a failing grade. This is why Wilson is helping students and teachers at GAC make the best use of ChatGPT while understanding its limitations.
“What is and isn’t plagiarism?” Wilson asks. “What if I’m using it to generate ideas? What if I’m using it to outline the paper but I write it? Those are conversations that need to happen with the teacher.”
ChatGPT is prohibited on student devices in some counties like DeKalb and Fulton. In Gwinnett County, students were warned to cite the service as a source and be accountable for any errors.
Though the chatbot can generate ideas and generate information, accuracy is an issue. The current version of ChatGPT works on information up until September 2021.
“It doesn’t have a lot of fact checking built into it,” Jesse Bockstedt said. He is a professor of information systems at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.
Bockstedt wants students to understand that ChatGPT will provide answers even when they aren't necessarily true.
“If you ask it to write a paper and to give citations," Bockstedt said, "It will give citations, but they’re often completely made up citations. “They look like citations because ChatGPT has learned what citations look like.
There are detection tools that teachers can use to detect AI-generated work, but Bockstedt said they’re in the development stage and aren’t foolproof.
Meanwhile, our 8th grader is playing it safe. Annie was upfront with her mom about the author of that Taylor Swift letter.
“She was sold,” Annie said her honesty paid off. “We’re going to Paris."
Her family has tickets to next spring’s concert in Paris.