Editor’s Note: This article uses generative AI at some points. All uses have been clearly identified as such.
OpenAI launched the artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT in November 2022, during my first semester of college.
I am sure many of you are familiar by now, but to give a definition, ChatGPT can be described as an AI chatbot that can create human-like dialogue to questions or inputs using natural language processing. Essentially, you ask it any kind of question and it will answer back. From math problems to dinner recipes.
For example, when asked “What is the Minnesota Daily,” ChatGPT responded with the following:
“The Minnesota Daily is a student-run newspaper based at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. It covers university news, local issues, sports, culture, and more, with contributions from students, faculty, and the wider community. Established in 1900, it is one of the largest student newspapers in the U.S. and has a notable history of award-winning journalism. The Daily provides a platform for students to gain practical experience in journalism, editorial work, and media production, and it publishes both in print and online.”
Not bad, Chat. The only thing is, we don’t have print news anymore.
ChatGPT falls under the umbrella of generative artificial intelligence (AI), which is simply AI that can generate new content.
Compared to when ChatGPT and similar generative AI platforms started to become popularized, the rhetoric surrounding them has drastically changed both at the University of Minnesota and in national publications.
Soon after its emergence, ChatGPT and related technologies were heavily frowned upon in my classes. Professors would spend chunks of lectures lamenting about how the platform was detracting from creativity and learning possibilities, and instead encouraging students to take shortcuts.
To be honest, those are not necessarily arguments I disagree with. Even with this column, I am sure if I were to ask ChatGPT to write 700 words about this topic, it would do a decent job. With a lot fewer punctuation errors.
But as others and I have learned, that isn’t the point.
Slowly, narratives started to shift and adapt and, as students, so did we.
For many first-year students at the University, ChatGPT is openly introduced and welcomed in their classes.
Frances Kastler, a first-year design student, said some of her professors encourage her to use AI for more information.
“In my biology class, there’s been a couple times where we have discussed something in class, and then my professor will tell us to ask ChatGPT too,” Kastler said.
Muniba Tahir, a first-year biology student, said she’s been prompted to use AI resources as a tool to help her create a study guide or brainstorm ideas.
Lila Moua, a first-year entrepreneurship student, said she has even been allowed to use AI to help with in-class exercises and case study problems.
It isn’t just us as students learning to use AI to our benefit, our professors and instructors are too.
The University now has a “Navigating AI” webpage which lays out guidelines for faculty, employees and students on AI usage and what the pros and cons are.
Kiarra Haber, a first-year student, said AI is a good resource.
“I think if you’re looking for a basic answer, it can be good,” Haber said. “But I usually try to look for something more in-depth if I need to.”
You can use ChatGPT to take unnecessary shortcuts, but you can also use it to explain things or generate ideas. It is a place to start, not a place to stay in.
Tahir said the natural language processing element of ChatGPT can make finding answers easier than other options.
“I think it makes finding information more accessible because AI usually learns from experiences with the users,” Tahir said. “ChatGPT can kind of narrow things down for you too, so there aren’t a ton of things on the screen.”
What I am trying to say is, don’t use ChatGPT to cheat.
And if you do, definitely don’t cite this column as justification. There are ways to cheat the system, but really, you are just cheating your learning.
However, it does not all have to be bad. There are ways to use AI platforms ethically and ways to use them that can make learning easier and more accessible for everyone.
Author and futurist H.G. Wells wrote, “Adapt or perish.” Perhaps the sentiment is not completely applicable, but whether you like it or not, the age of artificial intelligence has long arrived.
It is now up to us to figure out how to use it intelligently ourselves.