Enhancing the Classroom Experience

It seems like virtually everyone in education is talking about “ChatGPT.” It’s a potential game-changer for the way students research and write papers. It can also help with homework, writing skills, and to provide feedback. Some claim it’s just another learning tool and should be viewed as an additional resource for students. Others believe it is just another way to cheat the system, albeit through AI. There is a real risk of plagiarism as well.  Moreover, it can stifle critical thinking and original thought.

ChatGPT is a chatbot developed by the research and deployment company OpenAI and launched November 30, 2022. In a very short time, it has demonstrated the ability to provide detailed answers to complex questions while using the information it processes and feedback from users to improve its ability to respond.

Views of College Students

I recently read that over half of college students (51%) believe that using artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT to complete assignments and exams is cheating. Two in ten (20%) disagreed, and the remainder were neutral. Those are among the key findings from a just-released Best Colleges survey of 1,000 current undergraduate and graduate students, conducted in the first two weeks of March.

Here is a summary of the results of the study:

• 43% of college students have used ChatGPT or a similar AI application.
• Of those who have used AI tools, 50% say they have used them to help complete assignments or exams. That's 22% of all college students in our survey.
• However, most college students (57%) do notintend to use or continue using AI to complete their schoolwork.
• 31% say their instructors, course materials, or school honor codes have explicitly prohibited AI tools.
• Over half of college students (54%) say their instructors have not openly discussed the use of AI tools like ChatGPT.
• 6 in 10 college students (60%) report that their instructors or schools haven't specified how to use AI tools ethically or responsibly.
• 61% of college students think AI tools like ChatGPT will become the new normal.

Student Views About the Ethics of AI Tools

Students’ opinions about the ethics of using ChatGPT for their academic assignments depended on the way the survey questions were posed. For example,

• When asked if “using AI tools to help complete assignments and exams is morally wrong,” 41% agreed, while 27% disagreed.
• But when asked if “AI tools should be prohibited in educational settings,” 38% of respondents disagreed, and only 27% agreed.
• The survey found that 48% of students agreed that “it is possible to use AI in an ethical way to help complete my assignments and exams,” more than twice the percentage (21%) who disagreed.

Among those students who used AI tools to complete assignments or exams, 50% said they used them for only some portion of the work but completed the majority themselves. 30% used AI for most of their assignment, and 17% used AI to complete an assignment and turn it in with no edits.

Most college students (57%) said they didn’t intend to use or continue using AI to complete assignments or exams. However, 32% said they used it or would continue to use it in the future, while 11% preferred not to answer.

Other Opinions About Chat GPT

Among the respondents, 40% of students believed the use of AI by students defeated the purpose of education. Twenty-seven percent of them worried about the impact of AI on their education, and 31% were worried about its impact on their career or potential career. Almost half of students (48%) were worried about the impact of AI on society in general.

While most students (63%) thought that AI couldn’t replace human intelligence or creativity, a majority (51%) still thought the results can at least pass as "human."

Workplace Ethics Effects

According to the online website, Resume Builder, the question of how AI may affect jobs is paramount for many. College students need to be aware of how it may be used in workplace situations. The publicly accessible AI chatbot has many capabilities, including the ability to answer questions, create content, write code, and more.

In February 2023, ResumeBuilder.com surveyed 1,000 U.S. business leaders to see how many companies currently use or plan to use ChatGPT. The key findings were:

• 49% of companies currently use ChatGPT.
• 30% plan to use it; 85% of whom say they will start doing so within the next 6 months.
• 48% of companies using ChatGPT say it’s replaced workers.
• 25% companies using ChatGPT have already saved $75k+
• 93% of current users say they plan to expand their use of ChatGPT.
• 90% of business leaders say ChatGPT experience is a beneficial skill for job seekers.

Of companies that currently use ChatGPT, 66% use it for writing code, while 58% use it for copywriting/content creation, 57% for customer support, and 52% for creating summaries of meetings or documents.

Most companies also use ChatGPT to facilitate hiring; 77% say it helps them write job descriptions, 66% draft interview requisitions, and 65% respond to applicants.

Overall, according to the survey results, most business leaders are impressed by ChatGPT’s work. Fifty-five percent say the quality of work produced by ChatGPT is ‘excellent,’ while 34% say it’s ‘very good.’

ChatGPT is here to stay. My guess is we’ll be experimenting with different models over the next year and will eventually establish some rules of the road. The challenge for educators is to figure out how to use it in the classroom to enhance efficiency and to what extent students should be required or allowed to use it for assignments.

Blog posted by Dr. Steven Mintz, The Ethics Sage, on March 23, 2023. You can sign up for Steve’s newsletter and learn more about his activities on his website (https://www.stevenmintzethics.com/). and by following him on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/StevenMintzEthics and on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ethicssage. Check out professional recommendations on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-mintz-aka-ethics-sage-98268126/.