The artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT has recently been the topic of discussion among college students. The chatbot uses natural language to have human-like conversations. It can help you answer questions, write emails, and compose essays. A Swiss Bank UBS analysis found ChatGPT is now the fastest-growing consumer app in history. The AI is trained on a massive amount of text data from several sources, and it’s becoming an Internet-level disruption in the way we view technology.
Although the ChatGPT could revolutionize the way people use search engines by answering complex questions, the information it provides is not always correct. It presents wrong information as confidently as it presents correct information, using the same phrases when given one version of a question. With the amount of free information it exerts, it’s hard to trace where the chatbot collects its knowledge from. Unless users prompt the chatbot to provide sources, there’s no credit for the information. Readers tend not to discern the information they consume, and if it’s coming from AI, they may not question it.
ChatGPT has become especially popular amongst college students due to its ability to write college-level essays in seconds when given any prompt. A BestColleges survey of 1,000 current undergraduate students found that one in five college students use AI tools like ChatGPT to complete their schoolwork. More than half of college students believe that using AI programs to complete exams is cheating. Students disagreed when asked if AI should be prohibited in educational settings. 48% find it possible to use AI in an ethical way to complete assignments, with most respondents only using AI to only complete a portion of their work.
Colleges have started to discuss policies they should put in place regarding students’ use of ChatGPT. 54% say their instructors have not openly discussed the use of AI tools like ChatGPT. A lack of clear, consistent policies is leaving students uncertain about their use of AI tools. Regardless of whether ChatGPT is ethical, six in ten students believe AI tools will become the new normal.
Concerns have risen over whether AI will replace human workers like journalists or programers in the near future. However, the chatbot lacks the critical thinking and moral decision making ability to write successfully. It also is limited to data from 2021, making some searches useless. ChatGPT’s fast growth has left colleges and workplaces underprepared on how to handle the implications of the new technology.