Mr. Alvin Eugene Toffler had said, "the great growling engine of change is
technology." Man has advanced to such prodigious heights that even robots assist
in medical surgeries. ChatGPT stands as one of his many feats which has been
subjected to scrutiny, starting from professionals like lawyers to even the
layman.
While it has eased the lives of many, ChatGPT is not prone to
discrepancies. On one hand, it has helped in research and academic pedagogy
while on the other, it has been lambasted for issues such as plagiarism.
However, this Research Paper has ransacked through the boon and bane worthy
contentions on the potency of ChatGPT. However, the paper states all such
contentions precisely in the field of academics and research. The Researcher
urges the readers to reiterate from the two subsequent vantage points:
First and foremost, ponder upon the words of one of the greatest investors of
ChatGPT, Mr. Elon Musk - "With Artificial intelligence, we are summoning the
demon."
Secondly, fathom the words of Mr. Arthur C. Clarke – "Any sufficiently advanced
technology is indistinguishable from magic."
The Researcher expects that the reader will be cognizant of both these
convictions at the end of the paper.
Review Of Literature
The very aim of a literature review is to comprehend and demonstrate how one has
formulated their arguments from the cited sources. Following is a brief synopsis
of a few materials the Researcher has referred to:
In the "Rise of ChatGPT Challenges Our Education System", Zaveria has
intricately penned down the hurdles which are faced upon by ChatGPT and the
hurdles which are yet to be faced.
In Mr. Brady D. Lund & Ting Wang's "Chatting about ChatGPT", the co-authors have
provided the readers with a great insight into the know-hows of ChatGPT and how
it has answered to the extremely asked questions of the present. The interview
enclosed in their paper has thrown light into what ChatGPT is capable of and
what we should look out for.
The Researcher extends an immense gratitude to many more such articles and
research papers which has aided the Researcher in finalizing this paper.
Statement Of Problem
From the purview of a student, usage of easy technology has always been a
shortcut to score good marks in exams. The same from a Researcher's point of
view is to get their hands on some easy-to-find data through the medium of
user-friendly technology. And from the eyes of a teacher or a professor, the
sole agenda is to foster upon academic qualities and life skills in the
students.
The entire purpose stands as a failure when their pupil engages in
such said shortcuts. ChatGPT may have come as a "messiah" to many but at the
cost of redundancy and unhinged reliance on AI. What one needs is to be imbibed
with knowledge and not with crafty ways to pretend being knowledgeable. The sole
problem this paper points out at is how the technology, invested upon by
millions of dollars, has, instead, arose as a matter of a concern to a million
of people worldwide.
Research Questions.
- Whether ChatGPT is a bane or a boon?
- Whether ChatGPT can be used in an underhand and illegitimate manner?
- Whether ChatGPT can be used in a fructiferous and ethical manner?
Research Objectives.
- To understand the functionality of ChatGPT.
- To analyse the uses of ChatGPT from both a bleak and appeasing perspective.
- To infer to a conclusion as to how this AI can be used for the
greater good of academia and to circumvent around the challenges that
come with it.
Research Hypothesis.
Herein, the Researcher has put forth an honest attempt to put a gander on the
introspective and retrospective insights of the AI in question – ChatGPT. This
paper will delve into the present scenario and how it is being abused in the
field of academia. The paper will also answer as to how and what measures can be
taken to refrain from the same. It also puts forth their opinion with regards to
ChatGPT.
Research Methodology.
- Research Design: The research for the paper was conducted on an
analytical, inquisitive and informative premise, wherein the
Researcher has attempted to provide effulgence on the assigned topic
with no room for biases.
- Sources of Data: The presented data is collected via the medium
of research papers, a plethora of articles and other such secondary
sources.
At the behest of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world was thrown into an utter
turmoil. An unsung battle was fought between man and technology. With the advent
of the technophile era, which was otherwise perpetually portrayed in sci-fi
movies, came many new break-through revolutions in the field of education. Of
late, ChatGPT stands to be the talk of the hour. By now, "What is this ChatGPT?"
one might ask.
ChatGPT is a user-friendly chatbot that runs on the Generative Pre-Trained
Transformer, hereinafter GPT, mechanism. Created by San Francisco's OpenAI[1],
this chatbot helps one in answering to questions in an extremely detailed manner
which almost seems like a human-like response. The process takes place in the
form of a conversation, where the user enters a prompt and the chatbot answers
to the same using the conversational artificial intelligence. Its capabilities
are wide-arrayed such as writing essays, summaries, reports, emails, generating
professional answers, creating articles, etc. With the help of this technology
even a student slammed by deadlines can finish their assignments in a few
seconds. Moreover, it is capable of working on computer programming languages
such as Python, Java, C, C++, etc.[2] From students to professionals, this
conversational AI has swooned over the minds of millions.
Regardless of the quantum leap in the field of technology, ChatGPT has
influenced the educational industry in both pragmatic and pessimistic ways.
Besides providing a bespoke contrivance to students, as opposed to the
traditional manner of teaching, it will prove to be of sheer benefit for
learning "at one's own pace". This AI can help students "to think outside the
box" for topics which might otherwise be too mainstream to talk about or even
perplexing and labyrinthine in the first place.
Coming to the dissentive aspects, ChatGPT poses as a future ultimatum in many
ways. The foremost concern is – it affects the one's adeptness to learn,
irrespective of their age. One needs to understand that the chatbot is not freed
from limitations. Firstly, it cannot be used for creative or thought-provoking
affairs. To substantiate the same, it is posited that the GPT technology just
picks up whatever data it fancies from the plethora of textual datasets readily
available on the internet.[3] This can even lead to conveying disarrayed and
considerably off-putting information. One might need to verify such factually
erroneous data by cross checking with the subject-matter itself.[4] Arguendo, if
one cannot even rely on the data accrued from such an advanced technology, how
fruitful does it claim to be?
Secondly, plagiarism becomes a threat. While providing varied information on
said subject matter, ChatGPT is incapable of furnishing relevant citations.[5]
So much so that it can emit a mime-like behavior wherein the conversational AI
fails to understand what it fetches. Ironically when ChatGPT was questioned by a
human interviewer about its own downsides in academia, it replied with a
three-fold detailed answer criticizing its own usage, stating that it might have
potential biases towards data, high possibilities that the same might be used to
suffice unethical practices and has imminent data privacy concerns.[6] It is a
threat to one's professional discrepancy.
Coming to its influence, it can have a massive detrimental effect on the
students. As it was illustrated previously, a student can resort to ChatGPT for
finishing his/her assignments at the last hour but that will only result in
defying the very essence of an assignment. An assignment is to test one's
critical pedagogy.
It also assists in enhancement of what has been taught by the
teachers or professors in class. By audaciously copying from an AI which is not
prone to errors, students will become dependent and will nullify the true raison d'etre or the impetus behind acquiring education. Furthermore, in terms of legal
education, commission on ChatGPT will not inculcate the requisite knowledge of
law in law students, which is certainly awaited from future lawyers of the
Nation.
On one hand, it is mere child's play for students to learn, understand and to
make use of such latest technology while on the other hand, the former
generation finds it difficult to cope up with the same. A recent example for the
same can be the hassles faced by teachers, all around the world, when teaching
had to gear up to online methods during the pandemic. It becomes difficult to
put a gander on how to use such tools or even identify whether a certain piece
is self-penned or just a carbon copy of what a student got from, in the instant
case, ChatGPT. Moreover, bringing in a GPT detective software might even strain
the funds of educational institution, especially the ones with low economic
backup.
It creates a drawback in the field of online examination, which was
necessitated during the pandemic, for the risk of imitation and misleading
answers. If a person reads such ill-logical answers with less substantiative
value, one will be easily misled by the well-composed false texts generated by
the AI. Schools in NYC have begun to ban the usage of ChatGPT and so have
Bangalore's Universities.[7] The very renowned linguist, Noam Chomsky has
referred the chatbot as a "high-tech plagiarism" device.[8]
Despite ChatGPT's drawbacks, it has been accorded with some efficacious affairs,
which will be briefly elucidated in the upcoming Chapter.
Conclusion & Suggestions.
It is also averred that just like nothing is only black or white, ChatGPT can,
however, be used in resourceful ways. By way of illustration, features of
ChatGPT such as its 24x7 assistance, its capability to assess information
rapidly can be useful to both parties. ChatGPT is also capable of aiding to the
speech-to-text recognition needs for differently abled which will, in turn, abet
in their rightful education.[9] Its automated grading features[10] can even
assist the teachers to devote more time and attention towards the students.
Professors can resort to evidence or citation-based assessment techniques or
inculcate the primary source extract analysis curriculum.[11]
In turn, it will
help students to instill critical analytical reasoning and other academic
skills. Using the same as a "research tool" rather than as a "research paper
generator" would also contribute to its righteous utilization.
The Researcher is however of the opinion that too much of anything is bad.
Moreover, they would disdain for the commission of such technology over
traditional education, and at the same time respecting the new revolution in the
industry. Hence, to answer the title - yes, ChatGPT might be useful for research
and education, but what good will a person reap from getting the task completed
by a mere AI, whilst lacking behind in knowledge themselves?
End-Notes:
- OpenAI, https://openai.com (last visited Mar. 18, 2023, 12:58 PM).
- Id. at 1.
- GCN, https://gcn.com (last visited Mar. 19, 2023, 02:53 AM).
- India Today, https://www.indiatoday.in (last visited Mar. 20, 2023, 01: 30 PM).
- Y Hacker News, https://news.ycombinator.com (last visited Mar. 20, 2023, 01:37 PM).
- Brady D. Lund and Ting Wang, Chatting about ChatGPT: How may AI and GPT impact academia and libraries, ResearchGate, https://www.researchgate.net (last visited Mar. 19, 2023, 11:45 AM).
- Voicing Together, https://thecompanion.in (last visited Mar. 19, 2023, 07:12 PM).
- Greater Kashmir, https://www.greaterkashmir.com (last visited Mar. 18, 2023, 05:46 AM).
- Id. at 1.
- Digital Scholar, https://digitalscholar.in (last visited Mar. 20, 2023, 01:38 PM).
- Illinois University Library, https://www.library.illinois.edu (last visited Mar. 19, 07:56 AM); Zaveria, Rise of ChatGPT Challenges Our Education System, Analytics Insights (Mar 16, 2023, 08:53 PM), https://www.analyticsinsight.net.
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