The Ethical Implications of ChatGPT in Postsecondary Education
Within the realm of technology, few topics have garnered as much attention as ChatGPT in recent times. Since November 2022, OpenAI’s chatbot has witnessed an unprecedented surge in popularity, providing answers based on user input. The transformative potential of this site to change the scope of education is nothing short of monumental, and as AI continues to evolve, its implications for the educational landscape become more and more profound. As ChatGPT finds a way into educational settings, it is crucial to scrutinize its ethical considerations, assess its impact, and gauge its effectiveness, given its massive potential to influence students worldwide.
ChatGPT offers a multitude of possibilities for restructuring the classroom experience and can create new ways to educate and learn. Kevin Roose, a columnist for the New York Times, discussed ChatGPT with a diverse group of educators, ranging from K-12 instructors to PhD professors. He asked them about their fears with the rise of AI, and they shared their stories about how ChatGPT is decreasing the quality of homework. Roose mentioned GPTZero, software made by a Princeton student that can detect AI-generated writing. Using tools like GPTZero and ChatGPT, Roose encouraged teachers to give ChatGPT a chance, try out AI tools for their teaching, and then report back to him to see how successful it was. When Roose reconnected with the educators, he received positive feedback regarding the educators’ use of ChatGPT in the classroom. Others used chatbots to generate quizzes and only selected questions that they knew were correct instead of taking the entire quiz (Roose, 2023).
Roose’s advice to the educators underscores the chatbot’s potential as a valuable asset in the educational landscape. The unique approach to learning enabled by the chatbot provides an opportunity for students to engage with it creatively and find ways to “trick” it. In addition to its pedagogical applications, by using a chatbot like ChatGPT, students can develop skills that will be useful in their future professions. While it’s true that ChatGPT can be employed lazily for effortless question answering, this represents just one of its many applications. By having students and teachers learn about the productive ways to utilize ChatGPT, we can harness its potential to drive positive evolution within the world of education, embracing a new era of artificial intelligence in the classroom.
In a recent study conducted from the perspective of an educator, ChatGPT was prompted to create different lesson plans for different groups of students, depending on what their ideal type of learning was. Each plan was different, and the students were aware that ChatGPT had created these plans (Zhai, 2023). Once they had discussed it, the students agreed that each plan was creative and unique and if modified by the teacher, would be slightly better. This agreement to use AI in the classroom must create a two-way sense of trust between the students and teachers. If students can use ChatGPT regarding work within a class, teachers must be able to implement a positive learning environment, whether that be with the assistance of AI or not. With its ability to generate ideas and answers, ChatGPT can be used to supplement traditional teaching methods and assist students in developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. While ethical concerns surrounding the use of chatbots like ChatGPT persist, it is essential to acknowledge that AI is continually evolving, promising more accurate and refined responses in the near future.
While ChatGPT has received praise for its effectiveness, there are also some glaring flaws. The chatbot runs on a neural network, which means it takes the input sentence and blindly outputs an answer, with no confirmation on whether it is right or wrong. If the data are incorrect on a certain topic, it could have students blindly believing an incorrect answer. Another problem is the lack of depth and the predictable sentence structure. This has led to software such as GPT-Zero, which can detect with strong accuracy if something is written by a chatbot. It is also shown that ChatGPT sometimes has a lack of creativity and will keep generating the same output on certain queries (Baidoo-anu, 2023).
It’s crucial to recognize that ChatGPT’s capacity for producing incorrect answers does not render it a fundamentally flawed system. ChatGPT undergoes continuous updates, and the emergence of GPT-4, an upgraded version of GPT-3.5 (which powers ChatGPT), is much more powerful and correct. It was able to pass more higher-level tests and create a larger database to acquire answers from. Almost paradoxically, ChatGPT’s occasional fallibility could be an asset within education. It enables teachers to pose complex challenges to students, encouraging critical thinking and problem solving to pursue the correct information. This recognition that AI is not perfect aligns with the inherent nature of machines and emphasizes the importance of not fully relying on technology as an exclusive educational tool.
As a student, I’ve encountered a range of opinions about ChatGPT since last November. My journey through math and computer science courses has presented its fair share of challenges, and ChatGPT has proven to be an asset in various ways. Initially, I only used the platform for school, such as generating ideas for homework responses, troubleshooting code, and simplifying topics. However, during winter break, I quickly shifted to using it for other purposes. I was using it to create recipes for what food I had in my house, come up with fun games to play with my friends, and give people book recommendations based on a quick survey I would implement. I think it was around then that I realized that ChatGPT is not just an educational tool; it is a practical tool that is as useful out of school as it is in school. For this reason, I started to use ChatGPT differently. I didn’t ask it to solve problems; I instead asked it to explain the process of how to solve a similar problem and tried to take something away from it besides an answer. It has been interesting hearing other ways my peers have used it. I have heard stories about a grammar checker, a good tool to check answers, and one of the TAs I worked with said he created a rubric with AI. All of these implementations are creative and do not support the type of “lazy learning” that teachers may think of when a student admits to using ChatGPT.
As far as my professors and instructors are concerned, there have definitely been mixed feelings about the integration of AI in education. For instance, one of my professors this semester suggested ChatGPT as a useful tool to convert code to different languages of programming and stated it was probably the fastest way to do so. On the flip side, I’ve seen professors talk about ChatGPT so negatively that they threaten automatic 0 grades on assignments if students are caught using it. What strikes me about this reaction is the amount of proof needed to show that a student was using ChatGPT. Sometimes, even looking at the AI-generated answer is enough to draw inspiration, blurring when students have crossed this arbitrary line. This gray area of using ChatGPT and directly copying from it is where I became skeptical of an outright ban on AI in the classroom.
ChatGPT is a profoundly controversial topic with far-reaching implications for the rights of everyone involved. The consequences can vary widely, depending on how individuals choose to use it. While it can be utilized as a supportive tool for learning, teachers may feel like students are putting in less effort than normal when utilizing AI. I think it is important for students to be guided by teachers on how to properly use chatbots to properly support their various needs. In addition, teachers should talk about the responsibilities of using AI like ChatGPT and address the consequences of plagiarism, copyright infringement, and other ethical behavior when using technology. With that being said, there is definitely harm that can come from implementing chatbots in the classroom. The harm involved is that no learning will take place, and what is outputted from the website stays on the website, to the benefit of nobody. While this can happen, the outcome of using ChatGPT is up to the student, which can be learning nothing or even more comprehension than before ChatGPT was used. This versatility is risky as an educator, but it comes with a freedom of choice that is valuable and ethical for the student.
Banning ChatGPT outright shows that many people in our society are afraid of AI and what it possesses, as well as the possible damage it can cause to education. People tend to be afraid of the over-reliance on technology in society and think ChatGPT might be something people use everything for. This ban also ruins the freedom of choice for students, possibly looking to learn content in different ways than taught in class, and gives opportunities to a lot of students, including some with learning disabilities, to possibly learn and grow in ways never thought possible before AI. If used correctly, ChatGPT can be a huge asset in the classroom for both students and teachers. Not only can it accommodate all learning styles, but it can also help teachers teach in ways that are not only creative but take basically no time to generate. While it may seem as if ChatGPT might ruin the learning experience forever, it can be an asset if students and teachers both learn about its capabilities.
The recent developments surrounding ChatGPT have ignited controversy over its ethical implications in education. Banning ChatGPT would cause chaos among students, faculty, and outsiders because of the possible trouble it may cause. Moreover, such a ban could be seen as infringing upon the fundamental ethics of freedom while depriving students of a valuable resource, driven by concerns about its misuse. This can be combated by educating students and staff about ChatGPT, implementing the usage of GPT-Zero, the anti-AI software, and conducting surveys each semester to obtain data about the usage, effectiveness, and opinions of ChatGPT as a whole. While this solution may not address every issue, it aligns with the evolving landscape of AI and the ethical considerations it presents. It offers a way forward that respects the untapped potential of ChatGPT and the concerns it raises, ensuring that its integration into education is a well-informed, and thoroughly thought-out ethical process in response to its rapid rise.
Works Cited
Baidoo-anu, D. & Owusu Ansah, L. (2023). Education in the Era of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI): Understanding the Potential Benefits of ChatGPT in Promoting Teaching and Learning . Journal of AI , 7 (1) , 52–62 . Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/jai/issue/77844/1337500
Roose, Kevin. “Don’t Ban Chatgpt in Schools. Teach with It.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Jan. 2023
Zhai, Xiaoming, ChatGPT User Experience: Implications for Education (December 27, 2022).
