Oh boy, I’ve started playing around with ChatGPT, an Artificial Intelligence chatbot, and let me tell you, it is freaking me out. It is able to do basic research tasks extremely well with no discernible proof that it is AI. It is not always perfect, not always original, but it is capable of concise, coherent, and even creative answers. This is way beyond Google and its avalanche of answers, true, false, partly right, and weird. This is a thinking machine that learns from your interaction with it!!!
As a teacher I have seen, at both High School and Community College levels in the US, plagiarism already being a major issue, so I am just as concerned.
That being said, my response has been moving to oral exams or short answer assignments in class. One of my colleagues has students write essay first drafts in class with them, and then it is easier to work on what they already have than to start something ew, even Ai crafted.
Well, Dr. Bird, Paul commanded Timothy to train himself for godliness. I believe this new AI thing will become a test of godly character (truth, honesty, integrity, etc.) for many.
There are many scholarly debates in which there happen to be various "schools of thought," and often I have found that the truth lies hidden among some obscure minority (rather than with the consensus view). So, as humans allow machines to do their thinking for them, I wonder how well AI will do in terms of presenting all the nooks and crannies where the truth sometimes lies hidden. At least with human beings (and institutions) we have a wide variety of perspectives to choose from. But as AI becomes more widely used and trusted (globally), won't the results it generates become the new consensus? And if so, who will author the minority opinion?
And at a local level, how about sermon preparation? It could actually be useful for research without full academic resources, but the temptation to get it to write the whole thing might be too high. There might, of course, be the risk that you get the wrong sort of churchmanship.... You might find yourself channelling Benny Hinn in a seriously reformed church!
As a teacher I have seen, at both High School and Community College levels in the US, plagiarism already being a major issue, so I am just as concerned.
That being said, my response has been moving to oral exams or short answer assignments in class. One of my colleagues has students write essay first drafts in class with them, and then it is easier to work on what they already have than to start something ew, even Ai crafted.
Also, a thought - could we teach AI to detect work written by other AIs?
Well, Dr. Bird, Paul commanded Timothy to train himself for godliness. I believe this new AI thing will become a test of godly character (truth, honesty, integrity, etc.) for many.
There are many scholarly debates in which there happen to be various "schools of thought," and often I have found that the truth lies hidden among some obscure minority (rather than with the consensus view). So, as humans allow machines to do their thinking for them, I wonder how well AI will do in terms of presenting all the nooks and crannies where the truth sometimes lies hidden. At least with human beings (and institutions) we have a wide variety of perspectives to choose from. But as AI becomes more widely used and trusted (globally), won't the results it generates become the new consensus? And if so, who will author the minority opinion?
And at a local level, how about sermon preparation? It could actually be useful for research without full academic resources, but the temptation to get it to write the whole thing might be too high. There might, of course, be the risk that you get the wrong sort of churchmanship.... You might find yourself channelling Benny Hinn in a seriously reformed church!