ChatGPT What is it and why do I need to care as a parent?
What is ChatGPT?
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT (short for “Conversational Generative Pre-training Transformer”) is a large language model developed by OpenAI. It is a type of Artificial Intelligence (AI) model that has been trained on a massive amount of text data, allowing it to generate human-like text responses to prompts.
ChatGPT has been trained on a dataset of over 40GB of text data, which includes a wide variety of text types such as books, articles, websites, and more. This allows it to generate text responses that are highly human-like and can be used for a variety of natural language processing (NLP) tasks such as language translation, text summarization, and question answering.
One of the main advantages of ChatGPT is its ability to generate highly coherent and fluent text. It can be fine-tuned for specific tasks, such as answering questions, writing essays, creating summaries, and more. It’s been used in various industries such as chatbots, virtual assistants, language translation, and more.
However, it’s important to note that while ChatGPT is a highly advanced AI model, it is not capable of understanding the meaning or context of the text it generates. It simply uses patterns in the text data it has been trained on to generate responses that are likely to be coherent and fluent.
In summary, ChatGPT is a large language model developed by OpenAI, trained on a massive amount of text data, allowing it to generate human-like text responses. It’s used for a variety of natural language processing tasks such as language translation, text summarization, and question answering. It can be fine-tuned for specific tasks, but it doesn’t understand the meaning or context of the text it generates. The use of advanced artificial intelligence technology, such as ChatGPT, by students to write essays raises a number of ethical considerations and risks to both the education sector and the children themselves.
Why should I be concerned as a parent?
One of the main concerns is the potential for cheating. With the ability to generate complex responses to prompts, students may be tempted to use ChatGPT to complete assignments or essays in place of their own knowledge and understanding. This could undermine the integrity of the educational system and devalue the accomplishments of honest students.
However, there are also risks to the education sector and to the children themselves. The use of ChatGPT could lead to a decrease in creativity and innovation in students. As they become more reliant on AI technology to complete their essays, they may not develop the ability to think independently and come up with new ideas. This could have long-term consequences for their education and future careers. Additionally, children may not be able to distinguish between what is real and what is generated by the technology, which can lead to confusion and misinformation. As with any other form of cheating, if found out the consequences for the child could be far-reaching in terms of their future.
To mitigate these risks, several methods have been developed to detect the use of ChatGPT by students. These include plagiarism detection software, human review, proctored online exams, randomized questions, and AI detection software. These methods can help to detect cheating and ensure the integrity of the educational system. However, it’s important to keep in mind that these methods are not foolproof and there may be ways for students to circumvent them.
One such method is actually a tool that has been developed by the creators of ChatGPT themselves. OpenAI has created GPT-2 Output Detector and it can be found here. For those of you still wondering how good ChatGPT is I actually asked it to write the introduction to this blog post and to be fair it did a pretty decent job, probably better than me at this point :) but let's run that intro through the tool!
As you can see it is pretty sure that the text entered was created by AI! There are other such tools starting to spring up as the viral trend of AI is taking off and I am sure detection will become more streamlined in the future and be just as good as other plagiarism detection software that is in use to catch current cheaters.
On the other hand, there are also potential benefits to the use of ChatGPT by students. For example, it could be used as a tool to help students with learning disabilities or language barriers to more easily understand and engage with course material. Additionally, ChatGPT could be used to generate practice problems and exercises, allowing students to gain additional practice and reinforcement of key concepts.
In conclusion, the use of ChatGPT by students to write essays raises important ethical considerations and carries certain risks to both the education sector and to the children themselves. While it may offer some benefits, it is important to ensure that it does not impede the development of critical thinking skills or facilitate cheating. Educators should take steps to monitor the use of ChatGPT and provide guidance on how it should be used in a responsible and ethical manner. Additionally, the use of detection methods such as those described above can help to detect cheating and ensure the integrity of the educational system.
It is worth reiterating my usual message here about communicating with your child, sit them down and explain that yes this ability is mind-blowing but the consequences of using it are just the same as an athlete using performance-enhancing drugs in competition, if found out the consequences could affect them for the rest of their lives.