ChatGPT & AI Chatbots
Module 5. Is Using Chatbots Cheating?
In December of 2022, CNN sounded the alarm about chatbots writing essays. Follow this link to read how CNN wrote about ChatGPT going viral with a million users in its first week:
According to a survey conducted by Study.com, about a fourth of teachers reported catching students “cheating” by handing in essays written by ChatGPT. Nevertheless, only a third of the teachers surveyed wanted ChatGPT banned altogether. Follow this link for more details on what the survey revealed:
What do you think about whether students should be permitted to write their essays using AI chatbots? Is the idea of banning ChatGPT a kneejerk reaction to what might be a powerful tool for writing more thoughtful essays? What if students could ask AI to read and comment on their essays to help students write better by deepening their understanding? Here is how University of Massachusetts Professor Torrey Trust addresses worries about students using ChatGPT to do their homework for them:
Columbia University undergrad Owen Kichizo Terry wrote the following article about how much students are already using ChatGPT. More importantly, Owen provides strategic advice for how to prompt a chatbot when you are assigned to write an essay:
- Terry, O.K. (2023, May 26). I'm a student. You have no idea how much we're using ChatGPT. No software or Professor could ever pick up on it. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/im-a-student-you-have-no-idea-how-much-were-using-chatgpt
Throughout the United States, colleges and universities are making policies about student use of AI in completing coursework. Here you can see how the University of Delaware provides four policy options depending on whether a professor decides to (1) prohibit all use of these tools, (2) allow their use only with prior permission, (3) allow their use only with explicit acknowledgement, or (4) freely allow their use:
