The popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot from Open AI, ChatGPT, is raising concerns in the academic sector. ChatGPT has continuously made headlines since its launch in November and has become the new best friend of college students in everything from doing homework to preparing assignments.
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A recent survey conducted among one thousand respondents in the US shows nearly one in three students using ChatGPT to cheat on their schoolwork. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, asked one thousand current 4-year US students about their knowledge and use of ChatGPT while doing schoolwork.
According to Intellignet.com, 30% of its respondent students have used ChatGPT, and almost 60% have used this AI chatbot to conduct more than half of their assignments.
The majority of the students believe the use constitues cheating, but they are using it anyway, the report says.
Best friend for written assignments
As it receives text commands and provides written text, students use it for written assignments as per the report.
“When asked if they were familiar with ChatGPT before the start of this survey, 46% of respondents said that they knew of ChatGPT previously while 54% did not. Of the 46% who said they were familiar with ChatGPT, 64% (30% of the total sample) say they have used it to help them complete a written assignment,” stated a report by Intelligent.com.
Of the group of students who use ChatGPT, it is estimated that 60% use the tool for more than half of their total written assignments.
An English professor, Dr. Ronnie Gladden, plans to stop plagiarism by having students start their essay drafts in class. He believes originality and critical thinking are important and will defend them.
“In essence, originality and rigor absolutely matter. And critical consciousness and independent thought must be fostered, and I will fiercely defend those elements,” said Gladden.
ChatGPT Usage in Homework: Allowed or Not?
Survey results also suggest that educators are debating whether to embrace or ban ChatGPT in classrooms. Forty-six percent of respondents know that their professors or schools have banned ChatGPT, 29 percent say they have not banned the tool; and 26 percent are not sure about it. Additionally, 72 percent of students predicted their professors are “possibly” or “definitely” aware of the use of ChatGPT in written assignments.
“I’m embracing ChatGPT…I teach graphic design, which means I work with students on how to work in creative ways as we communicate through relationships between text, image and space,” commented Lisa Maione, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at the Kansas City Art Institute.
She is looking forward to announcing the activation of ChatGPT as a partner in their projects. The department was embracing an inquiry-based model for education, and ChatGPT was considered another tool for considering the impact of questions on the answers. It was hoped that ChatGPT, along with other analog and digital tools, would be playful partners in their creative and critical work.
“ChatGPT does not replace critical thinking or critical reading or critical writing,” she believes.
75% of ChatGPT Users View it as Cheating, Despite Continued Usage
Almost three-quarter of students who have used ChatGPT for schoolwork believes it is ‘somewhat’ cheating.
“As a current student at Sheridan College, I have personally used ChatGPT to assist with my homework assignments,” commented Christopher Smith, graduate student.
From his observations, a considerable number of peers also used technology, such as ChatGPT, to assist with their work. However, the question of whether its use is considered cheating is complex.
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