Creating art is a difficult task, with many artists spending weeks to months on one piece of artwork. So it came as a shock when a computer-generated art piece won first prize during the 2022 Colorado State Fair Fine Art Show. The internet backlash that soon followed afterward is something still discussed today among the art community, with many groups confusing real art for AI art. Some claim that AI art is still a valid form of art; just because a computer generated it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t convey emotions or tell a story. This controversy has created a divide among the internet with many people fearing what AI can do next.
ChatGPT first debuted in June 2020. It was advertised as an online chatbot that allowed people to have human-like conversations with an artificial intelligence. Students have even benefitted academically using this technology. Instead of waiting for an answer from a teacher or tutor, students can receive quick and easy data for answers that the AI receives from the internet. It even helps students improve their grammar and better understand the learning material. Teachers now, however, are calling for the banning of ChatGPT for school use.
Instead of using ChatGPT as a study tool to assist with homework or essays, students are taking advantage of the artificial intelligence by submitting essays that the program wrote. These essays not only lack the time and effort from students, but it can be difficult to differentiate human-written and AI-written essays. Educators are now crying out in outrage, stating that students should be challenged using critical thinking and problem-solving skills, instead of finding an easy way out with artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligences like ChatGPT can be used to benefit students. It could generate essay prompts, it could help with better grammar and language usage, it can help students with any difficulties they may have with their homework and it can even assist in bettering students understandings of their learnings by providing examples and explanations to concepts they may be having trouble with.
If used properly, ChatGPT can have a positive impact on students’ education. However, if ChatGPT continues to be used to autogenerate homework and essays for students who refuse to do the work themselves, educators may just ban the program entirely instead of allowing its usage in moderation.