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Will humans embrace ChatGPT and make a permanent space in their “living room…” or live in fear of machines? by Margaret Slobodinsky

by Margaret Slobodinsky

What is it about ChatGpt that excites you or makes you anxious? 

 Did ChatGpt replace Googling for you? 

Can machines think intelligently? 

Do you need a hand to open a window to the digital realm?

There is a lot of love out there for ChatGpt, lots of unsettling thoughts, fear and lots of what can and can't ChatGpt do?  As with any new technology platform that comes on the horizon, there are a lot of questions in the air.  One thing for sure we do know that artificial intelligence is currently a hot muffin and will gain more and more visibility and place in our everyday lives as we move into the future. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a very broad field of study, and can be defined in many ways, depending on the field of discipline. What is important to remember based on the research findings is that when defining an AI, the machines and programs developed by scientists don't have human intelligence, but what they do is exhibit intelligent behavior. AI goes all the way back to Alan Turing's design of his theoretical “Turing machine” in 1936. In the early 21st century, AI became more and more present in many areas of our daily lives. We humans started to heavily rely on personal devices such as laptops, smartphones, GPS, facial recognition, Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and others.  With years, high tech companies progressed and in 2022 the new development came on the market. US-based company OpenAI released an early demo of AI chatbot ChatGPT.

The question remains, will we humans leave one of the stones unturned, or embark on a new adventure?  Let's pick at the AI debate, more specifically ChatGpt in the educational landscape.  What has ChatGPT brought to the field of education? What did it take away?

For the student it seems it's nothing less than a dream, or a magic. Wow, essays, speeches, pretty much any assignment can all be completed within a minute!  On the other hand, ChatGPt has caused a lot of concerns for educators over the use of it. This is a big challenge to decide whether to fear it, push it away or work collaboratively?  Without a doubt AI technologies raise lots of challenges, risks and long term impact on students and teachers, but most educators are trying to find a golden middle.

As we briefly traveled to the past and glimpsed into the present landscape of AI, one thing became clear that we humans have to make an effort to understand these technologies and their benefits and weaknesses. If we ignore, react, dismiss, what will we accomplish? What if we learn to adapt, and agree to be part of the process that is moving with or without us?  We can embrace our responsibilities and understand that the problem is not with the tool but with the importance of the tasks. Humans have a responsibility to decide how we will progress and change with it or let fear get the best of us! 

So…

Will you make space for it in your “living room” or fight its existence?

Further Reading:

Bearman, M., & Ajjawi, R. (2023). Learning to work with the black box: Pedagogy for a world with artificial intelligence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 54(5), 1160–1173. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13337

García-Peñalvo, FJ (2023). The perception of Artificial Intelligence in educational contexts after the launch of ChatGPT: disruption or panic. Education in the Knowledge Society (EKS). https://doi.org/10.14201/eks.31279

Greene, J. M. (2023). ChatGPT (software). Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.

Marshall, P. (2011). Artificial intelligence. In CQ Researcher. CQ Press https://doi.org/10.4135/cqresrre20110422

Prothero, A. (2023, June 27). Don’t Ban ChatGPT in Writing Assignments. Try This Instead. Education Week (Bethesda, MD). 

Thi Thuy An Ngo. (2023). The Perception by University Students of the Use of ChatGPT in Education. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 18(17), 4–19. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v18i17.39019

Tsin Yen, K. (2023). Artificial Intelligence: Overview. Points of View: Intelligent Machines vs. Human Intelligence, 1–6

WANG, J. (2023). ChatGPT: The New AI Language Model. Teen Ink, 37(9), 20–21. 

Whitson, G. M. . I. B. M., PhD. (2023). Artificial intelligence. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.

ChatGPT Libguide:  https://guides.rider.edu/chatgpt