Open AI, an American artificial intelligence research laboratory, has caused shockwaves in the higher education system by releasing ChatGPT late in the year 2022. ChatGPT is a text-generation tool that has been primed with vast quantities of data, giving it the ability to produce human-like narratives that can excel in a range of tasks and disciplines.
While some herald it as a convenient learning aid, others fear its potential for ushering in a darker age of cheating and plagiarism. Academics now find themselves in an uncomfortable reality in which student assignments are increasingly being completed with ChatGPT.
The dilemma that faces us is not just the immediate issue of academic integrity but the more challenging prospect of embracing modern technology in education. We cannot deny the power of technology to transform our institutions, and it is with this positive attitude that we should look at ChatGPT as an opportunity.
Rather than trying to ban it, we should be looking for ways to use it responsibly. ChatGPT can be leveraged to improve learning by helping teachers save time and energy in conveying ideas to students. It has the power to enhance the student experience through enhancing creativity, critical thinking, research capacities and problem-solving skills.
The elephant in the room has to be proper implementation. Institutions must incorporate a set of ethics and ensure that the system is transparent and accountable. OpenAI is already working to develop such features so it falls upon the educational sector to adapt and adopt them. It is a transformative process, but one that can open wide the doors of opportunity.
