Embrace it? Ban it? Educators debate student use of AI

Summary

Artificial intelligence, particularly tools like ChatGPT, is causing significant concerns in higher education as students can easily generate essays. Universities are grappling with how to address this, with some adopting a 'wait and see' approach. Others are instructing professors to create their own policies, emphasizing ethical AI use and awareness of biases. Some educators, particularly in the humanities, argue that AI has no place in the classroom, valuing the intellectual and creative process of essay writing that AI cannot replace.

Takeaways

• 🤖 **AI in Education**: Artificial Intelligence, specifically chatbots like ChatGPT, are becoming prevalent in higher education.
• 📚 **Student Usage**: Students are using AI to quickly generate essays, which is causing educators stress and confusion.
• 🏫 **Institutional Response**: Universities are grappling with how to handle AI, with some allowing professors to set their own policies.
• 📈 **Adaptation**: Professors are adapting by teaching students how to use AI ethically and recognizing its biases.
• 🔍 **Bias Awareness**: There is a focus on making students aware of AI biases, especially against women and certain backgrounds.
• 📝 **Ethical Use**: Some universities have formed groups to ensure AI is used ethically in education.
• 🌐 **Paradigm Shift**: AI is seen as a potential paradigm shift in education, changing traditional methods like essay writing.
• 🚫 **Ban in Humanities**: Some fields, like Humanities and Journalism, are more resistant to AI, viewing it as a threat to critical thinking skills.
• 🎓 **Intellectual Purpose**: Professors argue that the essay writing process is crucial for intellectual development and cannot be replaced by AI.
• 🚷 **Enforcement Challenges**: There is an acknowledgment that enforcing a ban on AI in some classes will be difficult if it's allowed in others.

Q & A

How has the emergence of AI technologies like ChatGPT impacted higher education?

AI technologies like ChatGPT have created a significant impact in higher education by making it easy for students to create essays quickly, which has caused stress and confusion among educators on how to handle this new technology.

What was the initial reaction of universities to AI technologies in the classroom?

Initially, many universities and professors chose to wait and see, not having enough information about AI technologies like ChatGPT to formulate a policy.

What approach have universities taken regarding AI usage policies?

Instead of a blanket ban or endorsement, most universities have instructed their professors to make their own policies for their specific courses, as each course is different.

How are some professors in technical fields approaching AI in education?

Professors in fields like humanities, math, and engineering are teaching their students how to use AI technologies ethically, making them aware of the biases and limitations of AI-generated content.

What is the role of a consortium of professors in AI usage in universities?

Some universities have formed a consortium of professors dedicated to ensuring AI is used ethically, advocating for understanding and regulation of AI systems.

Why is it important to educate students and educators on using AI ethically?

It is important to educate on ethical AI usage to ensure that people understand the impact of AI systems on their decisions and lives, and to regulate its use.

What is the perspective of those who oppose the use of AI in the classroom?

Opponents of AI in the classroom, particularly in fields like humanities and journalism, argue that AI cannot replace the intellectual and creative process involved in essay writing and critical thinking.

What is the stance of Professor Christopher Snook on using AI for essay writing?

Professor Christopher Snook, a lecturer in Classics, believes that essay writing is a fundamental intellectual skill that AI cannot replace, and thus, he bans the use of AI in his classes.

How does the 'blank page' concept relate to the argument against AI in essay writing?

The 'blank page' concept symbolizes the creative and critical thinking process that is born from the challenge of starting from scratch, which opponents argue AI technologies like ChatGPT cannot replicate.

What challenges do educators face in enforcing AI usage policies in the classroom?

Enforcing AI usage policies can be difficult, especially when students are allowed to use AI in some classes but not in others, leading to inconsistencies in educational practices.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 AI's Impact on Higher Education

Artificial intelligence, particularly tools like Chat GPT, has significantly impacted higher education by enabling students to generate essays quickly. This has led to educators experiencing considerable stress and confusion over how to address the use of AI in academia. Deanna Sumanek Johnson, a senior education reporter, discusses the varied responses from universities, which range from outright bans to embracing AI and teaching its ethical use. Some professors encourage students to use AI tools like Chat GPT, while others, especially in the humanities, advocate for traditional essay writing as a fundamental intellectual exercise that AI cannot replace.

Keywords

💡Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. In the context of the video, AI is making a significant impact in the educational sector, particularly with the advent of technologies like ChatGPT, which allows students to generate essays with ease. This raises concerns among educators about the ethical use and potential misuse of such technologies in academic settings.

💡ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an AI language model that can generate human-like text based on prompts. The video discusses how ChatGPT has become a popular tool among students for essay writing, which has led to a 'mountain of worries' among educators. It is seen as both a tool that could aid in learning and a potential threat to the traditional academic process.

💡Higher Learning

Higher Learning refers to the academic study beyond secondary education, typically at universities and colleges. The video script highlights the challenges that AI technologies like ChatGPT pose to higher learning institutions, as they grapple with how to integrate or regulate these tools in their curriculum and assessment processes.

💡Ethical Use

Ethical use in the context of the video pertains to the responsible and moral application of AI technologies in educational settings. Professors are encouraged to teach students how to use AI tools like ChatGPT in a way that respects academic integrity and avoids bias, as these tools may have inherent biases that could affect the quality and fairness of student work.

💡Ban

A ban, in this context, refers to the prohibition of using certain AI tools in academic settings. The video mentions that some institutions have taken a hard stance against the use of AI in essay writing, viewing it as a violation of academic standards and integrity.

💡Policies

Policies in the video refer to the guidelines and rules set by educational institutions regarding the use of AI technologies. The script notes a shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to allowing individual professors to制定 policies for their courses, reflecting the diversity in academic disciplines and the need for tailored approaches to technology use.

💡Bias

Bias, in the context of AI, refers to the倾向性 or prejudice in the data or algorithms that can lead to unfair or unrepresentative outcomes. The video discusses how AI tools like ChatGPT may have biases that affect the content they generate, which is a significant concern for educators who want to ensure that student work is both accurate and fair.

💡Humanities

Humanities is an academic discipline that studies human culture through the critical study of languages, literature, philosophy, and the arts. The video highlights a divide in attitudes towards AI use between technical and humanities fields, with some humanities professors arguing for the preservation of traditional essay writing as a fundamental skill for critical thinking and creativity.

💡Academic Integrity

Academic integrity refers to the ethical principles and standards that guide the conduct of scholars, including honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. The video discusses concerns that AI technologies might compromise academic integrity by facilitating plagiarism or the submission of work that does not reflect a student's own understanding or effort.

💡Paradigm Shift

A paradigm shift is a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions. In the video, the interviewee suggests that AI technologies represent a paradigm shift in education, indicating that they will significantly alter traditional methods of teaching and learning, potentially leading to a reevaluation of what constitutes effective education.

Highlights

Artificial intelligence, such as chat GPT, is causing a significant impact on higher education.

Students can now create essays quickly using AI, raising concerns among educators.

Deanna Sumanek Johnson discusses the adaptation of AI in educational institutions.

Many professors and Deans are still unsure how to handle AI in the classroom.

Universities are instructing professors to create their own AI policies for their courses.

Different courses are adopting varied approaches to AI, reflecting the diversity of academic disciplines.

Some professors in technical fields are teaching students to use AI ethically.

There is a recognition of biases in AI, such as against women and certain backgrounds.

Universities are forming groups to ensure the ethical use of AI.

The leader of a five-university group emphasizes the need for AI education.

AI is seen as a paradigm shift that will change the face of education.

Some educators in the humanities argue against the use of AI in the classroom.

Christopher Snook, a classics lecturer, believes AI should be banned for essay writing.

Snook argues that the essay writing process is fundamental to intellectual development.

The debate reflects the tension between traditional academic values and modern technological advancements.

Enforcement of AI bans in classrooms is acknowledged to be challenging.

Transcripts

artificial intelligence is making a huge

Splash in the world of Higher Learning

easy to use Technologies like chat GPT

they let students create essays just at

the click of a mountain of a button and

is causing a mountain of stress and

confusion among Educators over exactly

what to do about the new technology I

look over here because Deanna sumanek

Johnson is here our senior education

reporter doing a lot of work on back to

school issues and we talked the other

day about how you'd be back for sure to

look at Ai and how institutions and

teachers and students are adapting what

are you finding well I think a mountain

of worries is correct when I spoke to

them last year so Chad GPT really made

its Grand entry into the mainstream

around January earlier this year so

we're talking mid-school year and lots

of professors and Deans were saying

let's just wait we just don't know

enough about it well they've had a few

months not a long time but some time to

think about it one thing I found Heather

is I anticipated there would be policies

you know we cannot use it it is banned

or we condone its use instead what I've

found most universities have done is

they've instructed their professors to

make their own policies for their own

specific course because of course every

course is different and then relate that

to the students so they said as long as

students have Clarity uh you can make it

whatever you believe to be appropriate

so one thing for example that I found

that in Humanities in in math in in the

Natural Sciences specifically in

engineering I found that a lot of

professors have said look we have techie

students as it is they're using this as

it is let's teach them how to use it

ethically let's make them aware that for

example chat GPT has biases uh they

found against women in some instances

against certain people of of certain

backgrounds that it the information it

spews out is not unbiased it's not a

pool of everything that exists in the

world or something that you find by

going to a really well resourced Library

so they said people need to know all

these things when they use these

resources and actually some universities

have a Consortium of professors

dedicated to ensuring that AI is used

ethically I got to speak to the man who

leads this five University group he's a

Toronto metropolitan University here's

why he had to say well here's what he

had to say about why it was important to

educate students and Educators on how to

use AI ethically we need to make sure

that it's regulated we need to make sure

that people understand when they're

dealing with AI systems what they're

getting into how it's impacting their

decisions how it's impacting their lives

and so we really need to make sure that

there are programs

that address that from from the core

he nonetheless called it a paradigm

shift he said Heather that this will

change as we can imagine this will

change education as we know it you know

and for someone who did study Humanities

I kind of love that idea of writing an

essay you know it's been done for

hundreds of years so yeah on the other

side are those who say there's no place

for chat GPT and AI applications in the

classroom what is that side telling you

I have to admit that I found that side

mostly among people who do study

Humanities journalism Communications and

so on where they say you can use it for

sort of loose research but not much more

than that one of them is core is

Christopher snook he's a lecturer in the

department of Classics at University at

Dalhousie University and he said the

essay specifically has a purpose and

it's an intellectual purpose it's the

clarity of thought you remember that

thesis and supporting statements and

that he wants his students to keep doing

that because it had there is a reason

for it the chat GPT cannot replace so it

is banned in if you're in Professor

snoke's class do not use it it's banned

here's what he had to say about why he's

not letting his students use it easy

writing seems to me a kind of

fundamental skill not just for the

production of essays but really

um a fundamental skill for the

production of a kind of human thinking

and also a kind of human flourishing

he likes this idea Heather of the blank

page as he calls it and I think any of

us have written scripts as well for

television you know that Terror when

you're staring at a blank page but he

says that's where creativity is born

that's where critical thought flourishes

it makes you collate your thoughts in a

way that's that's organized and and he

thinks that especially for young people

there is a real fundamental uh

intellectual and human uh skill in that

so so people like him are saying sorry

not in not in my class but he does

concede that it's going to be difficult

to enforce it if they're allowed to do

it in other classes exactly damn so

interesting okay we'll be watching for

your reporting with us and on the

national come back anytime with more of

your stories as you continue to look at

things that are in the classroom with

this back to school underwear thanks a

lot thanks sumanak Johnson