Let's Chat about ChatGPT

The rise of the machines is upon us, at least in terms of generative artificial intelligence (AI). I'm sure it's on everyone's mind - parents, students, instructors, educational developers, those who work to support students in academic support units, researchers, journal editors... and anyone else that I am missing - you too!

In my current role as an Instructional Developer this is a topic that many instructors (and students) want to know about and want to know how to navigate. Google Maps to the rescue! Maybe not.

My two cents, which is worth far less than that, is that ChatGPT and generative AI is not going away. If anything, it is going to continue to improve, learn, and grow in its availability and accessibility to the general public. It really isn't any different than the "boom" of the internet, online search engines, and Wikipedia. Policing the use of AI will be futile and frustrating. And while we may have software that can detect human vs. AI generated work, how long will this detection be effective for? Are we quickly and increasingly at the risk of falsely accusing students of breaching academic integrity due to the competency (or incompetency) of the detection software? Which is the greater of the two evils?

A colleague of mine pointed out a quote by Carl Jung, which might apply in this case:

"We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses."

In my opinion, the focus for instructors shouldn't be on preventing students from using AI as a resource. The focus should be on teaching students to be critical of the information gained from the resource. Sure, it can write that 5-page paper on whether or not safe injection sites are beneficial for those trying to manage addiction, but WHERE did the information that supports / negates the argument come from? Reputable, peer-reviewed journal articles? Other opinion pieces? Buzzfeed? Although, I do love me a random Buzzfeed quiz from time to time..... Sometimes it is important to know Where Should You Build Your Dream Cabin in the Woods? Although, based on that title, I would have thought - you know - the woods? I digress. All of the information that we could want is available to us in our back pockets on our smart phones. Maybe the focus on the memorization of content is less important than learning how to truly be critical of that information and learning the limitations and pitfalls of generative AI.

One last point to ponder before I leave you. We know that academics are already using ChatGPT in order to help with the writing of grants, research papers, assignment prompts, and exam questions. Is it not just a wee bit hypocritical to tell our students "thou shalt not use the AI for your tertiary academics" when we ourselves are using in an academic and professional setting? If you're not sure - just ask ChatGPT. I'm sure it has an answer.

The real question now is, which path do you choose?

Still from movie: "The Matrix", 1999