The world of higher education is being transformed by new technology such as the OpenAI ChatGPT chatbot. This AI-powered tool enables users to engage in natural conversations with a computer, using advanced language processing techniques to understand user input and provide meaningful, contextual responses. ChatGPT can be used to generate essays on a variety of topics, providing a powerful push to rethink assessment and what higher education should be for.
The Covid-19 pandemic has presented a challenge for higher education globally, and many institutions turned to software to assess student performance. This move was welcomed as an efficiency measure, but universities should also use it as an opportunity to consider the purpose of higher education and how assessment could be used to enhance its output. ChatGPT and similar chatbots are the perfect impetus for this reflection process.
Sioux McKenna, Dan Dixon, Daniel Oppenheimer, Margaret Blackie and Sam Illingworth are academics from South Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States working in the areas of education, learning and teaching. They agree that ChatGPT can help universities to rethink assessment and move away from solely assessing when students have memorized and summarized a body of knowledge, to assessment that is used as a tool to learn. Using ChatGPT to create prompts, lecture and students can advance the teaching and learning process.
Though the idea of using AI as a part of assessment has met resistance, the potential benefit to students is clear. Using this technology allows them to develop a more critical attitude to knowledge and encourages them to think with intention when constructing an answer. It also introduces them to the broader uses of AI tools in the modern world.
Though using a chatbot for assessment can be a challenge for universities, some have already seized the opportunity, exploring how the technology can be used. OpenAI has offered support to academics and universities, helping them to better understand how ChatGPT works and how it can be incorporated into their own curricula. The company’s aim is to help educational institutions navigate the changing landscape of its solutions and create a more seamless experience for users.
ChatGPT is not only limited to education either. The AI tool has a multitude of uses in industry and commerce, showing the power of modern technology and the importance of developing new technologies. It also highlights the importance of including AI solutions in higher education, with academic bodies having the opportunity to use them to transform their assessment policies. Ultimately, it is a tool that could greatly benefit higher education and make it more accessible, streamlining the assessment process and allowing students to gain a deeper understanding of their subject.
