“What are you studying now ah?”
“Oh I’m doing Comms and Media because I wanna do something related to content production in the future, you know like writing, videography, podcast, all that stuff.”
“Oh… so you heard of ChatGPT right! You not scared you will be jobless next time? (Laughs)”
Probably not the most pleasant Chinese New Year comment I received this year, but that was the first time I heard about ChatGPT.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot which interacts in a conversational way, capable of generating human-like responses based on the user’s input.
Photo by Jonathan Kemper from Unsplash
From brainstorming of ideas, answering encyclopedia questions to conversing with users, ChatGPT’s capabilities extend beyond these functions.
Netizens are fascinated by ChatGPT’s ability to generate articles and write codes. And while ChatGPT fared reasonably well for a chatbot, this opens up the world of possibilities for what Artificial Intelligence (AI) can do.
ChatGPT generation ideas for what to do over the weekend - an example of the many functions it is capable of.
With such a smart technology that is so easily accessible and free of charge, you can imagine the disruption it can bring to industries.
But it also leaves us wondering if we can or should use ChaGPT for our assignments?
Is that considered plagiarism? Is it unethical? How reliable is ChatGPT even?
To answer these questions and evaluate ChatGPT’s efficacy, I decided to put the chatbot to the test.
Putting ChatGPT to the test
Having just completed a midterm exam, I decided to subject ChatGPT to the same assessment.
For context, my exam was an expository essay, meaning there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers as long as I justified my argument with examples.
I typed my essay question in the search bar and pressed enter. Within seconds, ChatGPT churned out a double-sided argument, summarizing all the key points that we discussed in tutorial class.
What took one and a half weeks to research and craft my argument, ChatGPT did it in less than a minute, with accurate pointers although it didn’t provide case studies and examples.
ChatGPT constructing an argument based on the question I imputed.
Amused was an understatement as I nodded my head in approval of ChatGPT. I then decided to take it up a notch and use ChatGPT to generate ideas and the theories I could possibly use in an upcoming academic research assignment.
I typed a few key words into ChatGPT and just like how it fared in the first round, sentences were constructed right before my eyes, forming arguments within seconds.
I further specified my search and ChatGPT listed the key information in point form.
Having witnessed the capabilities of ChatGPT, I wasn't surprised when the bot did not disappoint. However, I was still curious about how smart this chat bot could be.
So I threw ChatGPT a curveball—instead of listing key words and generating pointers from it, I got ChatGPT to suggest specific theories I could utilize for a niche topic.
Unlike previously where the bot generated words within seconds, this time round, the cursor was blinking and nothing came out at all.
I thought this was it. I finally found a loophole for ChatGPT! Humans 1, AI 0.
But just as I was gloating over ChatGPT’s failure, the bot started vomiting content. Line after line, theory after theory.
For a moment I really thought the AI had access to the lecture slides on my desktop as the theories it suggested were spot on and exactly what my Professor has taught.
Admittedly, I was taken aback by the power of ChatGPT. Yet instead of experiencing a wave of relief that the bot had helped with my assignment research, my first instinct was fear.
A fear that one day AI would replace human intelligence. A fear that one day humanity might be over reliant on AI that we stop thinking.
Now, when I say thinking, I don’t refer to thinking about what to eat for lunch or thinking about our loved ones. I mean the critical type of thinking that trains our mind to process information, analyze it, and decide how to use and apply this information. This is an active thought process that makes us better thinkers, communicators, and workers.
How will AI affect our lives?
Photo by Kenny Eliason from Unsplash
I know, critical thinking is so overrated. Nearly all assignment descriptions have “critical thinking” as an objective. After all, that’s one of the 21st century skills that educational institutions want to impart in us isn't it?
But there must be a reason that critical thinking is so critical that it has become a commodity.
I recall five to eight years ago when the idea of critical thinking first emerged, it was a prized skill that set the top tier students apart. Typically the scholars and top performers were associated with this skill.
Fast forward to today’s society, no one really talks about critical thinking because it has become an unspoken expectation that everyone should have this skill.
My question is then, with the introduction and advancement of AI, will it rob our ability to think critically?
In this generation of instant gratification, AI satisfies us. It’s quick, easy and mostly reliable. On the contrary, thinking critically is time consuming, tiring and to some, troublesome.
With the ease of access to AI, you might be tempted to jump on the bandwagon and start using ChatGPT as your ghostwriter. But I urge you to consider the following pointers to guide your decision on whether to use ChatGPT or to what extent you should use it.
#1 Idea Generation vs Laziness
ChatGPT is a great tool for generating ideas and brainstorming if you are struggling with that. But be honest with yourself—-have you spent time thinking about your assignment and looking up resources? Or are you just trying to take the easy way out and let AI do the research work for you?
Consider if you want to learn the skills of researching to train your critical thinking as you sieve through information online, or if you are simply looking for an easy solution to complete an assignment.
#2 Time Saving vs Fact Checking
Undoubtedly, ChatGPT can save so much time given the instant response it generates. However, ask yourself how reliable the information is.
In recent news, Google lost 100 billion dollars in market value due to a factual error in its first demo. ChatGPT doesn’t provide the sources it extracts information from, nor does it provide examples to substantiate its points.
If you are going to use the content from ChatGPT in your assignments, be sure to fact check and look up for case studies or specific examples.
Generally, the results produced by ChatGPT lack academic rigor and depth, which might result in a poorer grade than if you actually completed the assignment yourself. So ask yourself, does ChatGPT really save you time and effort?
#3 Beneficial vs Limitation
If you pass off an essay generated by ChatGPT as your own, that's plagiarism without a doubt. That’s because you are claiming something that you did not produce as your own work. But I’m guessing that perhaps at times you may just intend to just use ChatGPT to generate ideas so that you have something to start working on.
Have you ever peeked at the answer key when you were doing assessment books or exam papers as a child? Well, I did. And I recall occasions where I’ve not completed the question but I checked the answer key to ensure I was on the “right track”. Before I knew it, my thought process was guided by the answer key and I ended up rewording the model answer.
This same concept applies to ChatGPT.
While your intentions are pure and you want to use the bot to help you out at the initial phase, think about whether the content churned out will limit the parameters of your ideas or even thought process.
AI should benefit us, not limit us.
What then? Should we use ChatGPT?
Personally, I foresee that this might be how I use ChatGPT:
- To generate additional ideas that I have missed out after I have done my research and drafted an outline
- To gain a better understanding towards complex theories (but I will fact check it against reliable sources, or look up YouTube explanation videos if needed)
- To summarise research papers or long book chapters that I might refer to as additional references
ChatGPT aside, I encourage all of us to think about this issue critically. Technology should make our lives easier, not take over humans, and I do believe that there are things irreplaceable by AI.
AI can condense all the content on the internet and summarize it within seconds, but it cannot replace our learning process. AI can craft a great piece of story, but it can’t replace our experiences and reflections. AI can make our lives simpler, but it can’t live on our behalf.
Therefore, I always caution myself to strike a balance when using technology, lest I become overly reliant on it. What makes me a dignified human is my ability to think, to create, and to love. And up till the day that I am incapable of thinking critically, I refuse to allow AI to do the job for me.
