Sophie:
AI has many negative connotations and rightly so. We’re all familiar with the capabilities of applications like ChatGPT: it can write essays, solve word problems and even generate art. This issue of academic dishonesty is prevalent and serious, as there are ways in which it stunts our critical thinking skills. However, its use is simply unavoidable. This is a powerful tool at our fingertips that quickly and effortlessly works through menial tasks—how could we not use it? AI is quickly becoming cemented in our culture, whether we acknowledge it or not.
So what if we embraced it?
The taboo that teachers create around ChatGPT is extremely counterproductive. It’s just like how strict parents raise sneaky children. A parent who creates shame around certain practices or actions only causes their child to A) want to do it more or B) hide it.
This isn’t an endorsement of cheating. Teachers should always inspire the production of original ideas, but when students hit creative roadblocks, using AI can be incredibly helpful. For instance, writing assignments that grant students creative liberty, while easier for some, can be stressful for others. Students can use AI as a method of developing ideas to build upon (not finalize).
New technology is inevitable. Think of the typewriter, text editors, calculators, computers and Google. We can view new technology as a curse or a gift, but ultimately it comes down to the ways in which we use it.
Tobias:
Okay, I don’t mind being the bad guy.
Before anyone thinks I’m trying to tell them what to do, I’m much less concerned about ChatGPT being a gateway drug to academic dishonesty, and more concerned about its long term impacts on society as a whole.
In the least nihilistic way possible, I think ChatGPT is the beginning of the end for critical thinking. Why? Learning and intellect are important to the human race.
Sadly, I do think that the repetitive, sometimes tedious work we do in the classroom is absolutely necessary; our classwork teaches us to employ reason and brainstorm creatively. Essays, as boring as they can be, force us to use and improve our critical thinking.
We can’t all use AI anytime thinking gets difficult. If we do, then the skills we need for writing, creativity and problem solving might start to disappear.
When it comes to the high school’s ChatGPT and AI policies, I’m a little flabbergasted. I know Sophie thinks people are going to use ChatGPT regardless, but we need regulation to prevent it from spiraling out of control, even if some people use it.
It is the school’s job to prepare the upcoming generation of humans to think critically. ChatGPT stunts that growth, so artificial intelligence needs to be addressed in the handbook and on a school-wide level.
