Teachers have been uneasy over the past few years about ChatGPT’s ability to help students cheat. Generative AI can write a college paper or answer a math question in a fraction of the time, making it an enticing shortcut. Professors (accurately or inaccurately) accuse their students of using ChatGPT to complete assignments.
Education company Chegg estimates that 40% of university students worldwide have used generative artificial intelligence in higher education, and half of them use tools such as ChatGPT at least once a day.
But education experts speaking at Fortune’s Brainstorm AI Singapore conference argued Wednesday that, nearly two years since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, generative artificial intelligence can now become an asset for teachers rather than a shortcut for students.
Sonita Jeyapathy, co-director of the Center for Pro Bono and Clinical Legal Education at the National University of Singapore, said that when ChatGPT was launched, educators’ “knee-jerk” reaction was to worry that students would start plagiarizing their work. But instead, “we realized we could use [Gen AI] Too.
Khairul Anwar, founder of Malaysian edtech startup Pandai, noted that teachers are asking AI developers to help plan lessons, motivate students and develop professionally.
Artificial intelligence developers are also building apps to help students learn. Pandai developed a chatbot to help students do their homework, but not do it for them.
“It’s not designed to give you a direct answer, but to give you a step-by-step solution. Ask students themselves…what do you understand now and what do you think the next step is?” Anwar said.
But chatbots are just the tip of the iceberg.
“There’s a lot going on in artificial intelligence beyond large language models,” said Tim Baldwin, provost of the Mohamed bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence. He gave the example of AI that could be trained on how students learn and then deliver lessons based on the student’s strengths, providing a personalized tutoring experience for those who traditionally couldn’t afford it.
The panelists agreed that AI cheating is not a new phenomenon.
Jeyapathy said it is natural for students to want easier ways to get better grades. She believes that students’ motivation levels and the values of the teaching institution have a greater impact on the decision to cheat than the use of any particular AI tool.
Anwar suggested that teachers and institutions need to do a better job of highlighting the value of education rather than just treating learning as a way to obtain material comforts. If education is described as a path to a job, a big house and an expensive car, then “the message is that it’s just a deal, [and] Apparently students cheat.
CEO Daily provides the critical context news leaders in the business world need to know. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily to get insights on and around the C-suite. Subscribe now.
