Use of AI raises ethical concerns

As technology evolves, artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly prevalent in academic settings.

Launched by OpenAI in November 2022, ChatGPT is a chatbot designed to mimic the human voice, whether through crafting casual dialogue or writing complex essays. The program can answer questions of varying difficulty, refining its answers depending on the specificity of the user’s requests. In academia, however, the use of ChatGPT is garnering mixed reactions. While some argue that software enables cheating and plagiarism, others find that it could have the potential to enhance student understanding, capable of presenting information in both complex and simplified forms. CSB+SJU political science professor Claire Haeg believes that in its current state, ChatGPT is unable to fully articulate complex ideas at a level satisfactory to demonstrate critical thinking.

“At this point, ChatGPT is at an early stage of development in terms of producing coherent writing,” Haeg said. “I encourage my students to play with it but also acknowledge its limitations. The questions I am asking my students require them to demonstrate their critical thinking skills in a way that I believe technology cannot accomplish at this moment in time.”

While the technology is banned in several school districts across the nation, few universities have yet to officially prohibit the use of the chatbot, many leaving the decision up to faculty members. In some instances, professors are enabling their students to use ChatGPT in order to brainstorm and generate ideas that some would argue enhance the learning process. Students can use the software to pose prospective research questions or use it as a tool to better understand the information they learned in the classroom.

Common protests against the use of AI technology in academia include arguments about plagiarism, especially when the software is used to comprise essays and other written work. If a student chooses not to read an assigned novel, for example, ChatGPT may have the ability to produce literary analysis. Some educators, however, are choosing to embrace the software. Philosophy Professor Erica Stonestreet discussed the use of ChatGPT with one of her classes, encouraging interested students to engage with the software when crafting an essay.

“I gave my students the option to use it on our first writing assignment. I am curious as to how it can enhance learning,” Stonestreet said. “They know my expectations for the assignment, and if they choose to use the software, they need to demonstrate enough understanding to critique the answers it gives them because as we know, technology isn’t perfect.”

The creators of ChatGPT acknowledge its faults as well. With each prompt it answers, the software has the capability to correct itself, essentially increasing its awareness as it encounters new information. Is it possible that ChatGPT has the ability to mimic critical thinking at or above the level of college-educated individuals? Right now, the consensus amongst professors seems to be no.

“Writing is thinking. You need to demonstrate a certain amount of preliminary knowledge to get the results you want, even when using an AI like ChatGPT. In its current state, I view it as an experimental tool,” Stonestreet said.

Haeg agrees, claiming that the scope of thinking she wants her students to demonstrate is beyond what AI software can produce at the moment.

“In my mind, it is like a calculator. You need to know what to plug in to generate the results you want. You may get it to generate what you want, but to an extent, doesn’t that mean you had to have a certain level of comprehension to begin with?” Haeg said. “In its present state, I don’t think we can rely entirely on AI to produce high-level thinking. That isn’t to say that it won’t happen in the future, however.”