Hot question: Many people and organizations approve of the endless possibilities of ChatGPT, but many others are more cautious about the new technology. The New York City Department of Education completely prohibits an artificial intelligence-based text generator.
ChatGPT, a machine learning-based chatbot that is taking the Internet by storm, will become persona non grata in New York City public schools. School officials have confirmed that the AI tool will not be available via the district’s network or devices, as they fear that students could easily use it to write their essays or cheat during exams.
According to Jenna Lyle, deputy spokeswoman for New York City Public Schools, there are concerns about the “negative impact of ChatGPT on student learning, as well as concerns about the security and accuracy of content.”
“While the tool can provide quick and easy answers to questions,” Lyle noted, “it does not develop the critical thinking and problem—solving skills that are essential for academic success and lifelong success.”
New York became the first major school district to ban the use of ChatGPT in its school networks. Quite a remarkable decision, considering that the chatbot with artificial intelligence has only been available to the public for a month or so. There are no official statistics on how popular the tool is among students, but officials are clearly well aware of its capabilities to give relevant (and sometimes correct) answers to complex and even conversational text prompts.
The ChatGPT machine learning network, trained in public Internet knowledge available until 2021, can write short answers, imitate (or try to imitate) well-known literary styles, and even write entire essays on a specific topic or subject of study. OpenAI has clearly created one of the most impressive artificial intelligence tools available today, so much so that entire industries (especially Google and other search engines) are rethinking their future prospects and business opportunities.
However, despite all this, ChatGPT is not at all “intellectual”: simpler answers to factual truths are usually correct, while complex or specialized topics can easily be shredded and reassembled to get a formally correct answer with completely absurd — or false — facts. . Darren Hicks, an associate professor of philosophy at Furman University, says ChatGPT is essentially a “new form of an old problem” where students cheat to pass exams.
In the past, before the advent of AI, these students could pay or ask someone to write an essay for them, and ChatGPT can give them an instant and free answer. In addition, artificial intelligence will only complicate the implementation and use of anti-plagiarism measures, although some companies (Turnitin) are trying to improve their detection tools so that they can identify text “related to artificial intelligence”.
