Artificial intelligence (AI) has long been the subject of fear, fueled by science-fiction movies depicting a world where robots enslave humanity. However, AI has made significant progress and continues to improve each day. This realization hit me when I received an email invitation that didn’t offer a blank space for a reply but instead presented me with the option to accept or decline. While many saw this as a positive development, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy knowing that Google was reading my emails.
Google has been tracking us for years, creating personal profiles based on the information we provide when signing in, such as our names, birth dates, genders, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, and even security question answers. It records all our searches and monitors the websites we visit, using this data to build a profile of our preferences. It’s almost as if Google knows us better than our own friends and family.
To demonstrate this to my students, I challenge them to search for something simple like “spoon” on their devices. They quickly realize that the search results they receive are personalized based on their previous search history. Google tailors the results to fit their profile. This example highlights how much information Google has about us.
Now, we have ChatGPT, a tool that generates human-like responses to chat queries. Educators may worry that students will misuse this technology for their term papers, leading to concerns about cheating and plagiarism. In my course syllabus, I address this issue by requiring students to indicate if they have used ChatGPT and ensure that all information and insights provided in their papers are validated by themselves, a human person.
While ChatGPT can mimic human conversation, it lacks the ability to verify information. For example, it incorrectly claimed that “Ambeth Ocampo” authored “banned books” when asked about him. When prompted to describe and analyze Ambeth Ocampo, it provided accurate and detailed information. However, it’s essential to note that apart from my academic background, which I obtained from De La Salle University, the generated information could easily be mistaken for a eulogy at my funeral!
Despite the concerns surrounding AI, ChatGPT is not our enemy. When used responsibly, it can have a positive impact on education. It teaches students essential skills such as research, source validation, citation, and analysis. Personally, I’m not concerned about ChatGPT surpassing human capabilities since my search history, which forms the basis for ChatGPT, is more extensive than that of my incoming freshmen. Nothing can replace the unique abilities of the human mind and heart.
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