What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer) is a language model created by OpenAI that can generate text and translate languages. It can provide human-like text responses to questions, which makes it applicable to different areas such as developing personalized text content.
ChatGPT was introduced as a prototype in November 2022 and immediately became popular for its articulate responses to prompts in different fields of knowledge. It is the latest OpenAI language model.
ChatGPT was designed using both supervised and reinforcement learning. In supervised learning, ChatGPT was offered chats in which human trainers acted as the user and the AI assistant.
In the case of reinforcement learning, the trainers first rated the answers that ChatGPT had provided in a previous chat and used these ratings to develop ‘reward models’ that the model further used to respond.
ChatGPT can be used for:
- Text generation: ChatGPT can be used to provide human-like text responses to questions. This enables it to create chatbots for customer service, provide answers to questions on online platforms, and also generate personalized content for online posts.
- Text summarization: ChatGPT can also provide summaries of long documents or lengthy articles. This allows users to get an overview of a long-form piece of writing without having to read the entire text.
- Language translation: ChatGPT can also be applied to language translation tasks. By offering the model a text in one language and indicating the target language, ChatGPT can provide accurate translations of the given text.
- Analysis of viewpoints: ChatGPT is also capable of analyzing the tone and emotion of a particular text. This allows it to determine the feelings behind customer feedback for the sake of improving customer satisfaction.
How AI-Powered Writing Works
An AI writing model generates texts through the use of prediction. It looks at what has been previously written and predicts what comes next.
It works more like a phone which has predictive text turned on. However, unlike a phone’s predictive text which only looks at the last few character inputs, the AI model looks back at least the last 700 words. It then provides hundreds of words of generated text.
OpenAI’s writing model has been trained on Wikipedia, e-books, articles, and the world’s literature. By using this wide database, the model can understand the context it is writing in which makes its text indistinguishable from that of a human. It forms an internal “mental record” of how language is processed.
In addition to repeating text, the AI model is also capable of developing new ideas. It can develop an internal representation of concepts that are behind the surface text.
OpenAI’s writing model develops a multilayered network that includes words, the style used, the structure of the text, and the underlying concepts. This enables it to perform complex writing tasks such as writing novels.
Pros and Cons of Using ChatGPT
There are both pros and cons to using ChatGPT for educational reasons.
Pros:
Provides high-quality writing: Since ChatGPT generates its content from a vast database of information, it is likely to provide more intelligent content. This makes it suitable for educational reasons due to its high level of credibility.
Personalized learning: ChatGPT can adjust to a student’s level of comprehension and modify the conversation or prompts accordingly. This can personalize the learning experience thus making it suitable for students with different learning capabilities.
It also ensures that students can learn at a pace with which they are most comfortable thus enabling them to learn more effectively.
Convenience: Students can access ChatGPT from anywhere provided they have an internet connection. This makes it a suitable learning tool for students who may lack access to a tutor or teacher.
It also eliminates the financial restraints which make it difficult for some students to access proper learning. Using ChatGPT is much cheaper compared to hiring a tutor or enrolling in an online class.
Time-saving: By generating quick responses to prompts, ChatGPT saves students time, enabling them to get on with other tasks. This also allows the student to learn more about a given topic in less time.
Has room for improvement: A student can upvote and downvote a certain response while also offering feedback. The responses provided by ChatGPT can therefore be improved with time thus upgrading its overall performance.
Since it is trained through both supervised and reinforcement learning, it is capable of being fine-tuned to offer more accurate results.
Cons:
Lack of human interaction: Although ChatGPT can provide instant feedback, it is unable to have real-time conversations with a student. Its inability to provide personalized feedback makes it difficult for a student to ask for clarification thus limiting their learning experience.
Limited knowledge: ChatGPT is only able to generate content based on the information it has been trained on. It may therefore provide information that is not up-to-date or in some cases provide no information at all. Unlike humans, ChatGPT does not have a limitless source of data.
Dependence on technology: Just like any product of technology, ChatGPT is prone to technical difficulties. This means that its availability and reliability are not guaranteed. Students’ learning progress may therefore be hindered thus limiting their learning experience.
Ambiguities: ChatGPT sometimes provides a convincing text which makes no sense under the surface. This occurrence is called “hallucination”. Its inability to provide references and citations also makes it difficult to pinpoint where the information was sourced from. Using ChatGPT for research reasons may therefore not be ideal.
Ethical concerns: Since its launch, ChatGPT has been under scrutiny. Some educational institutions believe that by using this model for writing tasks, students will be engaging in academic dishonesty. Several of these institutions have therefore banned its use.
Researchers have also complained about copyright infringement since ChatGPT’s results are based on human-generated texts. The ethicality of using ChatGPT for both educational and commercial purposes is still a topic that is under debate.
AI as a Threat to Education
Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in the education system is expected to affect how the system works. As we adopt a more digitized learning experience, there are bound to changes that alter the operations and goals of the current education system.
Some of the challenges that AI may pose to education include:
- Lack of alternative teaching methods.
Teachers often offer different methods to solve a given problem. This increases the flexibility of students’ minds thereby developing their creativity. However, robots only offer a single solution without any optional variants. This makes it difficult for students to come up with new approaches to tackle tasks thus making the learning experience more rigid.
- Limited ability to learn with a virtual assistant.
Physical human interaction between teachers and students makes the learning experience more lively. Students are likely to be more motivated to study when they can engage with their teachers in real-time. With the use of robots, this enthusiasm to study may be lost especially due to the lack of supervision.
- Unemployment
Teaching is amongst the largest professional branches in most countries. Replacing teachers with robots will therefore render the majority jobless thus increasing the rate of unemployment. Students who are also pursuing a teaching career will also be demotivated and some may even drop out of school and give up on their dream altogether.
- High cost of delivery.
Implementing AI in schools is predicted to largely increase the budget of schools. This will therefore affect every other area of education. This budget may also be difficult to forecast due to the versatile nature of the expenses.
For instance, if a school has a robot assistant, calculating the power that it may consume may be difficult. Some of the vital school expenses such as tuition fees may therefore need to be increased to cater to the AI expenses.
- Increasing technology addiction.
Traditionally, digital devices such as mobile phones and tablets were not permitted to be used in the classroom. However, with the implementation of AI, textbooks will be a thing of the past and these devices will take over.
Students will therefore spend most of their time on these gadgets and within a few years we will have socially unabated adults.
AI may therefore hinder one of the major goals of education which entails developing all-round individuals.
AI as an Opportunity
When well utilized, artificial intelligence can provide great benefits, especially in the education sector. Some of the opportunities that AI may offer include:
- Adaptive learning.
Teachers often have a hard time identifying when a certain student requires additional help. Implementing AI in the education system can help solve this problem. It can develop tailored content to improve a student’s blind spots.
For instance, some AI-powered learning apps such as Quizlet provide adaptive learning. They allow students to answer a few questions regarding a particular topic and offer a schedule for their learning. The coursework is then adjusted based on the student’s current knowledge.
Such AI-powered curriculum tools would help students to organize their time appropriately thus enabling them to complete a particular course within their preferred timeline.
- Speeding up ‘Back Office operations’.
Although classrooms and campuses are places for learning, most often mundane tasks such as scheduling study groups act as distractions. AI can however help to increase the productivity of both instructors and students by taking over these mundane tasks.
AI-based tools such as Meet Assistant get rid of the back-and-forth exchanges that take over one’s time while trying to set up meetings. It analyzes an individual’s schedule and identifies the next best open time slot for the particular parties.
- Developing better test preparation.
Standardized test-taking is a crucial activity in academia. While these tests examine the levels of competence, they can become a hindrance to future academic prowess if students are ill-prepared for them.
AI-led test preparation tools such as Riiid help learners to prepare for college tests and entrance exams. This allows students who are not confident test-takers to evaluate themselves effectively.
These tools promote the idea of “no student left behind” thus ensuring that every student with a desire to learn has college access.
How ChatGPT May Transform Writing
With the launch of ChatGPT, there will be a rise in the use of automated content generation tools. As this AI language model continues to be improved, it will be able to generate high-quality text thus being able to produce articles, social media posts, and other pieces of text.
This will be of great use to companies that require to provide large amounts of written material regularly. Such companies may include e-commerce websites and news organizations.
ChatGPT will also encourage the development of up-to-date virtual assistants. As ChatGPT continues to be improved, virtual assistants could become more effective at helping users. This could eventually lead to a higher demand for these automated tools in the writing industry.
Similarly, ChatGPT could create new opportunities for writers. For instance, writers could start editing the results of ChatGPT to ensure that the output is refined.
They would also create and train chatbots. By offering suggestions for written content, ChatGPT could greatly assist writers in their work.
However, ChatGPT also poses some challenges for the writing industry. For instance, the use of this language model could lead to the replacement of human writers.
This would cost some writers their jobs considering that most of their tasks would now be automated. Furthermore, the quality of written content may also decrease since ChatGPT may not be as creative as human writers.
To wrap up:
ChatGpt is a great AI tool that could revolutionize the writing industry. While it may cause some challenges, it could also provide numerous chances for writers to improve their work.
The main solution will be to find a balance between the application of ChatGPT and the use of human creativity in writing.