Last month, OpenAI released a new product to the market with the help of their AI chatbot, GPT-4. This machine learning technology helps create natural language text by using algorithms and is capable of passing bar and AP exams with a high score, as well as scoring nearly perfect on a GRE Verbal Test.
Intrigued by this milestone, a team at Brigham Young University (BYU) and a few others around the world wanted to put the original version of this bot, ChatGPT, to the test when it comes to accounting exams. The researchers conducted a study to assess the AI’s performance in this field and found that while the bot has a lot of work to do, it could indeed revolutionize the way people learn and teach on many levels.
The lead author of the study, David Wood, a professor in accounting at BYU, noted that fears were raised about AI being used to cheat. However, the purpose of the research was to use this technology to enhance the teaching and learning process. The results were impressive and gave them new insights.
The technology became popular almost immediately and reached 100 million users in less than two months. On social media, 327 colleagues from 186 provinces across 14 countries participated in the research and contributed with 25,181 classroom accounting exam questions.
The exams were of varying difficulty levels and types: true/false, multiple choice, and short answer questions. In the end, the students performed better than ChatGPT with an overall average of 76.7%, while the bot scored 47.4%. The AI bot surprisingly performed better on true/false and multiple-choice questions but failed to answer short answer questions correctly.
Although the technology has a lot of room for improvement, it can still be used to design and test assignments along with other projects. This is driving the need for professors to assess classroom processes and use their staff differently. One of the research participants, Jessica Wood, a freshman at BYU, noted that students should not rely solely on ChatGPT for their learning as it has its limitations.
OpenAI is determined to keep improving GPT-4, and the researchers strongly believe that they can expect even more complex results.
OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research and development company co-founded in 2015 by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever. Their goal is to be the premiere Artificial Intelligence (AI) company, developing a world-class AI platform in order to create a positive impact on humanity.
David Wood is a professor at BYU’s School of Accountancy, where he has taught for over 25 years. His research is focused on theoretical research for AIS, business process modeling, and international economics. Wood has also received numerous awards for his groundbreaking research and contributions to the academic field.
