Conversations
Adventures with AI – ChatGPT
It can be time consuming to keep up a ‘blog’ – and this Conversation piece is in fact another TechDem blog post that is, as always, long overdue. What to do? How to share the affordances of AI and ChatGPT as a brief introduction leading to our CoP session soon? Simple answer – ask ChatGPT itself!
Generating a blog post
This is what I asked: “In blog style explain artificial intelligence and ChatGPT referring to its significance in higher education, the downside, the implications for teaching and learning, and future predictions.” Here is the result….
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field of technology that has the potential to revolutionize many aspects of our lives, including higher education. One of the most exciting applications of AI in education is the development of chatbots such as ChatGPT, which can help facilitate learning and provide personalized support to students. However, while there are many benefits to using AI in education, there are also some downsides and potential implications for teaching and learning.
First, let’s take a closer look at what AI and chatbots like ChatGPT are. AI refers to the ability of computers and machines to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, and problem-solving. Chatbots are a type of AI that use natural language processing to understand and respond to human language, allowing them to communicate with users in a conversational way.
The use of chatbots like ChatGPT in higher education has several significant advantages. For one, they can provide personalized support to students, answering their questions and helping them find resources that meet their individual needs. This can be especially useful in large classes, where it can be difficult for instructors to provide individual attention to each student.
Chatbots can also help to streamline administrative tasks, such as answering common questions about enrollment, schedules, and course requirements. This can free up instructors and staff to focus on more complex tasks, such as developing course content and engaging with students in meaningful ways.
However, there are also some potential downsides to using AI and chatbots in education. One concern is that they could replace human instructors, potentially leading to a loss of jobs in the field. Another concern is that they could reinforce existing biases in education, such as gender or racial biases, if the data used to train them is not carefully scrutinized.
There are also implications for teaching and learning. For example, the use of chatbots could change the way that students learn and interact with information. Instead of relying on traditional lectures and textbooks, students may use chatbots to ask questions and access resources in a more interactive and conversational way. This could potentially lead to a more personalized and engaging learning experience, but it could also require students to develop new skills, such as the ability to communicate effectively with chatbots.
Looking to the future, the use of AI and chatbots in higher education is likely to continue to grow. We can expect to see more advanced and sophisticated chatbots that are capable of handling complex tasks and providing more personalized support to students. However, it will be important to ensure that these technologies are used in ways that are ethical and beneficial to students, and that they are developed with a clear understanding of the potential implications for teaching and learning. Overall, the use of AI and chatbots has the potential to transform education and make it more accessible and engaging for students, but it will require careful planning and implementation to achieve the best results.
What is missing?
Well, in academic terms of course contextual references and a clear indication of where the information has come from…but I can add that in based on readings. I could also modify and extend this essential outline as needed if I had time….
What next – a bit of fun
Having a bit of fun I then asked ChatGPT to write a limerick with the same list of criteria – a little difficult in 5 lines! This is what it produced:
There once was a chatbot named GPT
Who brought AI to university
It helped with learning and tasks
And answered questions it was asked
But biases and job loss are risks to foresee
Finally, I asked “In the style of Dr Seuss share the implications of AI and ChatGPT for teaching and learning and future predictions.” To which it replied:
Oh, the places we’ll go with AI
And the chatbot called GPT, oh my!
In higher education it’s clear
New possibilities are near
GPT can help with each student
Answers to questions, it’s quite fluent
No need for human intervention
GPT offers personalized attentionTeaching and learning are set to change
A new approach to engage
But we must also take care
That AI doesn’t lead to despair
Some downsides we must consider
Bias and job loss, oh what a quiver
We must ensure that it’s used right
And benefits are well in sight
The future of AI is bright and bold
We’ll see new chatbots and more unfold
With care and ethics we’ll pave the way
To a better future for all each day.
What is ChatGPT?
The following was provided by OpenAI ChatGPT
ChatGPT is a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that uses natural language processing to understand and respond to human language. It is based on the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) language model, which was developed by OpenAI, a leading AI research organization.
ChatGPT is designed to have conversations with humans, and it can be used in a variety of contexts, including customer service, education, and entertainment. In higher education, ChatGPT can be used to provide personalized support to students, answering their questions and helping them find resources that meet their individual needs.
ChatGPT works by analyzing the text of a conversation and generating a response based on the context and the user’s input. It does this by using deep learning algorithms to learn patterns in human language, and it can generate responses that are often indistinguishable from those of a human.
Overall, ChatGPT is an exciting development in the field of AI, with the potential to revolutionize the way that we communicate and interact with technology.
John Spencer, ex-teacher and USA University professor, provides a number of resources to learn more about AI and ChatGPT. The video below shares the perspective of ‘vanilla’ and how ‘boring’ responses can be from ChatGPT because of the lack of context and voice. Something we need to consider – personalisation of learning and contextualised artefact creation aligns with assessment ideals – but that’s another blog post!
Further Reading
Educause Special Report (2022, June 1). Artificial Intelligence: Where are we now?
Nguyen, N. (2023. January 3). ChatGPT: How to adapt your courses for AI?
Spencer, J. (2023, February 4). We Can’t Predict How A.I. Will Change Learning #ChatGPT.
Great info thanks. We are only at the very start of Ai, think of it as being at the stage when we had to write code in Notepad to build a website or when Photoshop did not have layers. This baby will grow fast.