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Alarmed by A.I. Chatbots, Universities Start Revamping How They Teach

Jacksprat

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While grading essays for his world religions course last month, Antony Aumann, a professor of philosophy at Northern Michigan University, read what he said was easily “the best paper in the class.” It explored the morality of burqa bans with clean paragraphs, fitting examples and rigorous arguments.

A red flag instantly went up.

Mr. Aumann confronted his student over whether he had written the essay himself. The student confessed to using ChatGPT, a chatbot that delivers information, explains concepts and generates ideas in simple sentences — and, in this case, had written the paper.


 
Damn NYT paywall.

All in all, it's getting crazy how AI is becoming pretty smart at making stuff like this.

There's also new AI programs that make AI artwork, and much of it I can't tell was made by an AI (but some can be obvious, AI seems to have serious issues with drawing fingers).
 
Damn NYT paywall.

All in all, it's getting crazy how AI is becoming pretty smart at making stuff like this.

There's also new AI programs that make AI artwork, and much of it I can't tell was made by an AI (but some can be obvious, AI seems to have serious issues with drawing fingers).
I don't know why people care about AI art. To make your own stuff?
 
I don't know why people care about AI art. To make your own stuff?
I think it's just to see how impressive the AI can be.

Some of it is genuinely good, and it's cool to see what an AI can draw from a prompt.
 
I think it's just to see how impressive the AI can be.

Some of it is genuinely good, and it's cool to see what an AI can draw from a prompt.
I don't see the point. I speak as an artist. So maybe that is my bias. Most of the AI art I've seen is kitsch.
 
I don't see the point. I speak as an artist. So maybe that is my bias. Most of the AI art I've seen is kitsch.
Speaking of artists, I've seen artists get into fights with people for their artwork being accused of being drawn by an AI.

I assume this problem will get worse as AI improves.
 
Speaking of artists, I've seen artists get into fights with people for their artwork being accused of being drawn by an AI.

I assume this problem will get worse as AI improves.
You've seen artists get into arguments? Where? Never heard of it.
 
You've seen artists get into arguments? Where? Never heard of it.

Reddit. On art subreddits I follow.

Recent example where a dumb moderator accused an artist of their artwork being AI-drawn.
 
If an AI Chatbot is not a legal person then is using its writing without citation an act of plagiarism? It's an interesting legal question. Could universities get into legal trouble for punishing students under plagiarism rules with respect to Chatbots if no person generated or owns the writings being copied?


Brave New World time.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
 
If an AI Chatbot is not a legal person then is using its writing without citation an act of plagiarism? It's an interesting legal question. Could universities get into legal trouble for punishing students under plagiarism rules with respect to Chatbots if no person generated or owns the writings being copied?

Brave New World time.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
Not plagiarism. Just cheating. No legal issue there.
 
If an AI Chatbot is not a legal person then is using its writing without citation an act of plagiarism? It's an interesting legal question. Could universities get into legal trouble for punishing students under plagiarism rules with respect to Chatbots if no person generated or owns the writings being copied?


Brave New World time.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
At schools including George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., and Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., professors are phasing out take-home, open-book assignments — which became a dominant method of assessment in the pandemic but now seem vulnerable to chatbots. They are instead opting for in-class assignments, handwritten papers, group work and oral exams.
 
Not plagiarism. Just cheating. No legal issue there.
Jacksprat:

So if a student's computer uses auto-correct or suggests words or phrases to complete sentences as tthe student types the paper, is that cheating too?

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
 
Jacksprat:

So if a student's computer uses auto-correct or suggests words or phrases to complete sentences as tthe student types the paper, is that cheating too?

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
What is the purpose of a university? For students to learn or for students to cheat? No doubt, many come to cheat.
 
At schools including George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., and Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., professors are phasing out take-home, open-book assignments — which became a dominant method of assessment in the pandemic but now seem vulnerable to chatbots. They are instead opting for in-class assignments, handwritten papers, group work and oral exams.
Jacksprat:

Your cited NYT was behind a pay wall so I could not read it.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
 
What is the purpose of a university? For students to learn or for students to cheat? No doubt, many come to cheat.
Jacksprat:

I don't think there is any one purpose. Learning, training, certification, making contacts, social,life, buying time before real life starts are all reasons I have encountered as motives for attending Uni.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
 
Jacksprat:

I don't think there is any one purpose. Learning, training, certification, making contacts, social,life, buying time before real life starts are all reasons I have encountered as motives for attending Uni.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.

How does cheating fit into it?
 
....The student confessed to using ChatGPT....
I finally registered and asked ChatGPT a couple questions. It is amazing what it spits back at you in seconds. I asked:

Has Vilenkin's theory of "many worlds in one" been supported empirically yet?

The program responded:

Alexander Vilenkin's theory of "many worlds in one" is a concept from cosmology that suggests that our universe is just one of many universes that exist in a "multiverse." The theory is based on the idea that the universe is in a state of eternal inflation, where new universes are constantly forming and branching off from one another. This theory has not been supported by empirical evidence yet and it is considered a theoretical concept at this point. The idea of a multiverse is still a topic of ongoing research and debate in cosmology and theoretical physics, and it is not yet possible to either confirm or disprove it with current technology and scientific methodologies. Some physicists and cosmologists argue that the concept of a multiverse is supported by certain models and theories, such as the "many-worlds interpretation" of quantum mechanics, while others argue that it is not testable and therefore not a scientific concept.

Pretty darn good (except that the "many-worlds interpretation" of quantum mechanics has little to do with the idea of multiverses).
 
If an AI Chatbot is not a legal person then is using its writing without citation an act of plagiarism? It's an interesting legal question. Could universities get into legal trouble for punishing students under plagiarism rules with respect to Chatbots if no person generated or owns the writings being copied?


Brave New World time.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.

The University can make up its own rules so there is no legal framework for them to adhere to.
 
I finally registered and asked ChatGPT a couple questions. It is amazing what it spits back at you in seconds. I asked:

Has Vilenkin's theory of "many worlds in one" been supported empirically yet?

The program responded:



Pretty darn good (except that the "many-worlds interpretation" of quantum mechanics has little to do with the idea of multiverses).
Thanks, never heard of Vilenkin. Looked it up.
 
Then there's this from a separate article in today's NYTimes:

How ChatGPT Hijacks Democracy

....ChatGPT could automatically compose comments submitted in regulatory processes. It could write letters to the editor for publication in local newspapers. It could comment on news articles, blog entries and social media posts millions of times every day. It could mimic the work that the Russian Internet Research Agency did in its attempt to influence our 2016 elections, but without the agency’s reported multimillion-dollar budget and hundreds of employees.....
 
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