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

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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.


Alarmed by A.I. Chatbots, Universities Start Revamping How They Teach (Published 2023)

With the rise of the popular new chatbot ChatGPT, colleges are restructuring some courses and taking preventive measures.
www.nytimes.com
 
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?
 
Jacksprat said:
I don't know why people care about AI art. To make your own stuff?
Click to expand...
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.
 
TheGoverness said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
Jacksprat said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
TheGoverness said:
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.
Click to expand...
You've seen artists get into arguments? Where? Never heard of it.
 
Jacksprat said:
You've seen artists get into arguments? Where? Never heard of it.
Click to expand...

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?

plagiarism

www.law.cornell.edu

Brave New World time.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
 
Not plagiarism. Just cheating. No legal issue there.
 
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.

Alarmed by A.I. Chatbots, Universities Start Revamping How They Teach (Published 2023)

With the rise of the popular new chatbot ChatGPT, colleges are restructuring some courses and taking preventive measures.
www.nytimes.com
 
Jacksprat said:
Not plagiarism. Just cheating. No legal issue there.
Click to expand...
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.
 
Evilroddy said:
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.
Click to expand...
What is the purpose of a university? For students to learn or for students to cheat? No doubt, many come to cheat.
 
Jacksprat:

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

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

How does cheating fit into it?
 
Jacksprat said:
....The student confessed to using ChatGPT....
Click to expand...
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).
 

The University can make up its own rules so there is no legal framework for them to adhere to.
 
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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