Why US Schools Are Blocking ChatGPT?
2023-01-18
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1Ask the new artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT to write about the cause of the American Civil War and you can watch it produce a school report in just a few seconds.
2The technology is so good that it can write sentences like ones written by a human.
3And it is also free.
4The tool has been in use since November.
5But it is already raising tough questions about the future of AI in education, the tech industry, and a number of professions.
6New York City school officials recently started blocking the writing tool on school devices and networks.
7The decision by the largest school system in the United States could affect how other school systems deal with the technology.
8Teachers are now trying to find out how to prevent students using the AI tool for cheating.
9And the creators of ChatGPT also say they are looking for ways to detect misuse.
10ChatGPT launched last November as part of a larger set of technologies developed by the San Francisco-based company OpenAI.
11It is part of a new generation of AI systems that can have a discussion and create written work.
12It can even produce new images and video based on what it has learned from a large database of digital books, online writings and other media.
13But unlike previous AI tools known as "large language models," ChatGPT is available for free to anyone on the internet.
14It is also designed to be more user-friendly.
15It works like a written conversation between the AI system and the person asking it questions.
16Millions of people have played with the tool over the past month.
17They used it to write poems or songs. Some tried to trick it into making mistakes.
18Others used it to write email. All of those requests are helping it to get smarter.
19Like similar systems, ChatGPT can produce strong writing.
20But that does not mean what it says is factual or makes sense.
21Its launch came with little guidance for how to use it.
22But the program will admit when it is wrong.
23It will also question "incorrect premises" and reject requests meant to bring about offensive answers.
24Its popularity has led its creators to try to lower some people's expectations.
25Sam Altman is the head of OpenAI.
26He said on Twitter in December that ChatGPT is very limited, but good enough at some things to make people think it is great.
27He added that it should not be used for "anything important right now."
28Many school systems in the U.S. are still deciding how to set policies on the use of AI programs and how they can be used.
29The New York City education department said it is restricting use of ChatGPT because it is worried about negative impacts on student learning, as well as "concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content."
30But there is no stopping a student from using ChatGPT from home or on a personal device.
31Jenna Lyle is a spokesperson for New York schools.
32 She said the tool may be able to provide quick and easy answers to questions.
33But she told The Associated Press: "it does not build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success."
34When VOA asked ChatGPT whether the program could be used to write school papers, it said that using it for writing papers is "cheating" and does not help the students.
35ChatGPT then provided a very similar answer to Lyle's saying, "using such a tool doesn't build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills which are essential for academic and lifelong success."
36The Associated Press asked ChatGPT how to know if something was written by a human or AI.
37The program said, "To determine if something was written by a human or AI, you can look for the absence of personal experiences or emotions."
38It noted that AI writings could also contain unnecessary words or repeated sentences.
39In a human-written statement, OpenAI told the AP that it plans to work with educators as it learns how people are experimenting with ChatGPT in the real world.
40"We don't want ChatGPT to be used for misleading purposes in schools or anywhere else, so we're already developing mitigations to help anyone identify text generated by that system," the company said.
41I'm Dan Novak.
1Ask the new artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT to write about the cause of the American Civil War and you can watch it produce a school report in just a few seconds. 2The technology is so good that it can write sentences like ones written by a human. And it is also free. 3The tool has been in use since November. But it is already raising tough questions about the future of AI in education, the tech industry, and a number of professions. 4New York City school officials recently started blocking the writing tool on school devices and networks. The decision by the largest school system in the United States could affect how other school systems deal with the technology. 5Teachers are now trying to find out how to prevent students using the AI tool for cheating. And the creators of ChatGPT also say they are looking for ways to detect misuse. 6What is ChatGPT? 7ChatGPT launched last November as part of a larger set of technologies developed by the San Francisco-based company OpenAI. 8It is part of a new generation of AI systems that can have a discussion and create written work. It can even produce new images and video based on what it has learned from a large database of digital books, online writings and other media. 9But unlike previous AI tools known as "large language models," ChatGPT is available for free to anyone on the internet. It is also designed to be more user-friendly. It works like a written conversation between the AI system and the person asking it questions. 10Millions of people have played with the tool over the past month. They used it to write poems or songs. Some tried to trick it into making mistakes. Others used it to write email. All of those requests are helping it to get smarter. 11What are the possible issues? 12Like similar systems, ChatGPT can produce strong writing. But that does not mean what it says is factual or makes sense. 13Its launch came with little guidance for how to use it. But the program will admit when it is wrong. It will also question "incorrect premises" and reject requests meant to bring about offensive answers. 14Its popularity has led its creators to try to lower some people's expectations. 15Sam Altman is the head of OpenAI. He said on Twitter in December that ChatGPT is very limited, but good enough at some things to make people think it is great. He added that it should not be used for "anything important right now." 16Many school systems in the U.S. are still deciding how to set policies on the use of AI programs and how they can be used. 17The New York City education department said it is restricting use of ChatGPT because it is worried about negative impacts on student learning, as well as "concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content." 18But there is no stopping a student from using ChatGPT from home or on a personal device. 19Human or AI? 20Jenna Lyle is a spokesperson for New York schools. She said the tool may be able to provide quick and easy answers to questions. 21But she told The Associated Press: "it does not build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success." 22When VOA asked ChatGPT whether the program could be used to write school papers, it said that using it for writing papers is "cheating" and does not help the students. 23ChatGPT then provided a very similar answer to Lyle's saying, "using such a tool doesn't build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills which are essential for academic and lifelong success." 24The Associated Press asked ChatGPT how to know if something was written by a human or AI. 25The program said, "To determine if something was written by a human or AI, you can look for the absence of personal experiences or emotions." It noted that AI writings could also contain unnecessary words or repeated sentences. 26In a human-written statement, OpenAI told the AP that it plans to work with educators as it learns how people are experimenting with ChatGPT in the real world. 27"We don't want ChatGPT to be used for misleading purposes in schools or anywhere else, so we're already developing mitigations to help anyone identify text generated by that system," the company said. 28I'm Dan Novak. 29Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 30_________________________________________________________________ 31Words in This Story 32premise - n. a statement or idea that is accepted as being true and that is used as the basis of an argument 33benefit - n. a good or helpful result or effect 34essential - adj. extremely important and necessary 35academic - adj. of or relating to schools and education 36mislead - v. to cause to believe something that is not true 37mitigate - v. to make less severe, harmful, or painful