Imagine this: It is Sunday night, and you still have not opened (or even glanced at) that assignment that is due at 11:59 PM. You sigh and crack open your laptop to stare at the blank document that has yet to be filled with your original thinking and analysis. To save time, you type ChatGPT in your search bar and now every answer to every question is available at your fingertips.
So what is this new website that has taken cheating to a whole new level? ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence website, was released in November of 2022 and provides articulate ideas, somewhat accurate data, and essentially a bottomless pit of information. Students can ask questions in ChatGPT, right after they enter their email addresses and create an account. Though this website can be useful when one needs to collect facts, it is questionable when used in place of original ideas.
ChatGPT can write essays, emails, songs, poems, and much more. It seems pretty clever. It can also write in a variety of languages. Though AI does acknowledge that it does not know everything and some information may be inaccurate, people use it regardless.
Sophomore Caitlyn Estrada was eager to share her experience when asked about the software: “ChatGPT? Most people use it to cheat. It is sort of like Siri or Google. You could just be like ‘Hey! What’s the answer to this?’ It is pretty effective, but they just get all the information from other search engines. I know some kids use it to cheat, but most of the time they just get caught.”
Izzy Cumming, a sophomore, holds a different opinion on the matter. She explains, “I do not use it often. It is fine, it does work. I do not know anyone that uses it.”
Vaishnavi Iyer agreed with the latter: “When I ask it some questions, it lies to you. When you ask if the website is sure, or you ask the question again, it repeats the answer. It is good for certain things like English, but not calculations. It can explain the methods but sometimes the answer will not be accurate.”
ChatGPT and its uses have also been considered by teachers. Since some students are using AI to plagiarize, it is just another thing that educators must now be conscious of checking. Sophomore Gabby Nunez commented, “I do not use ChatGPT, but I think that teachers are very aware of ChatGPT. I would not risk using it because teachers will find out.” Just like Gabby, most students are wary of using ChatGPT out of fear of being reprimanded. Applications such as Google Classroom and GPTZero are now frequently used to catch students who utilize AI on assignments. Some teachers are actually infusing it in their classrooms and teaching students responsible use of AI, rather than banning it from the classroom altogether.
No matter the controversy, AI is here to stay. With new developments in the computer science world, AI will be instrumental in expanding human knowledge and promoting progress. Though artificial intelligence could be used in negative ways, its usefulness and convenience must not be overlooked.
