Chat GPT and the education system

Chat GPT disrupting the education system

The story of students using Chat GPT for an exam has sparked a debate about the ethical implications of using AI to cheat. In France, a university professor caught the cheating students on denunciation and gave them a lower grade ( 11,75/20) , likely due to his knowledge of the situation. At the same time, the New York City public school system has banned the use of Chat GPT on their wifi network and school devices, citing fears that students will not learn effectively if they are able to cheat on their tests and submit essays written by AI. This decision is just the beginning of what is sure to be a long and contentious battle between the school system and students using AI-powered technology.

A Cat and Mouse game

Although the current version of GPT-3 cannot guarantee great grades ( MCQs ) and can be tricked, it is still an impressive technology. It is evolving very quickly, and Open AI is already working on GPT-4 which will bring significant advancements. On the other hand, educational institutions are slow to adapt especially in France. Where they have not yet fully come to terms with the search engine revolution that occurred 25 years ago.

Nevertheless, institutions still have some weapons in their arsenal to combat AI. They can physically block the use of AI for tests that are taken at school, and they can also use tests with more complicated framing, especially in non-English languages. This kind of adjustment can help to level the playing field, and give institutions a chance against AI.

Finally, even if AI can work alone, a human who can work in coordination with the AI will be hard to stop. In MCQs per example he will be able to reformulate questions to have a better answer from Chat GPT.

Oral presentation is an interesting case as it involves a combination of human and AI elements. Preparation for this can be aided by AI, but the actual delivery of the presentation must be done solely by the human.

Educational institutions must stay informed on the constantly evolving AI technology, while students should be aware of the repercussions of using AI to cheat. Despite the difficulty of detecting AI-based cheating, AI stay tool and thus it is crucial for educational establishments to identify ways to make use of its capabilities while still safeguarding the accuracy of their tests.

AI in the history of education

For the past two centuries, France has seen a considerable amount of transformation in its educational system. Politically, it has shifted from an emphasis on education for some boys to one for all. The Church, which had traditionally taken on the role of instruction, has been replaced by a secular approach with teacher train in university and paid by the state.

In addition, the wide distribution of books since the end of the 19th century made it possible for those who could read to access knowledge through their local libraries.

In the nineties, the Internet revolution enabled anyone with a computer and an internet connection to access a vast quantity of knowledge from their own home. Despite the vast wealth of knowledge the Internet has made available, it is not always easy to put that knowledge into action. Artificial Intelligence can aid in this by providing a means to interpret the knowledge and make it more accessible. Nevertheless, there is still the difficulty of establishing the accuracy of AI and determining what is true and what is false.

We can hope that advances in generative language will help our schools system to make the leap into the 21st century. In France, there is a strong political desire to embrace technology, albeit with some restrictions. It is acceptable to use technology to do better, what was previously done without a computer. For example, calculators at high school and computers at universities are commonplace. There are some grey areas around the usage of technology, such as the use of online translators in language teaching, which is highly dependent on the teacher. Aside from disciplines like technology, most of the traditional courses, like French, mathematics, history and geography, are not tech-friendly and prefer to stay within the bounds of tradition.

Some questions around these evolutions

The introduction of AI into the academic world has raised a lot of questions about the role of the professor. OpenAI is easy to use, even for young children, making it possible for them to get perfect scores on their assignments. This could create a problem for teachers, who would struggle to discern between a student who makes use of OpenAI, one who uses it smartly, and one who does not use it at all. Is it fair to give a 14 to a student who has done his homework alone without any help, and a 19 to a student who has used AI? Some would argue that open AI is leveling the playing field at school as a potential means of creating a more equitable environment between those with access to parental help for homework and those without. I think that’s perfectly admissible.

On the global picture , It could be said that attempting to prohibit AI would be going against the tide of history, as it is likely to be an integral part of the lives of future generations. Therefore, rather than trying to prevent students from accessing it, we should strive to teach them how to use AI responsibly. Nevertheless, we should be aware that AI does have its drawbacks, such as the lack of the capacity to discern truth from lies.

Finally, one can draw a comparison to the work of Emile Durkheim, who argued that the Church placed voluntarily emphasis on the form of Latin language rather than its cultural content. As a result, French education has historically concentrated more on the form of language than its actual content.