Content created by this program also evades detection by most current software designed to uncover plagiarism (on which universities rely to weed out cheats).
One student told me in a research interview how happy he is to be at university at this exact point in time because he can use this AI program to complete his assignments,knowing that it usually takes universities two to three years to catch up with new technologies. He said by that time,he will have graduated.
There are so many issues at hand here. This student was studying to be a teacher. If he didn’t complete his assignments himself,will he have the knowledge needed to teach? What if he had been doing a medical,law or finance degree? The issues are similar. There are obvious negative implications for the industry,clients,and workforce.
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Large scale “someone doing your assignment for you” issues no doubt impacts Australia’s economic competitiveness. But what if the world’s students were doing this? What are the global implications? This issue isn’t restricted to universities,it’s relevant to school learning,and activity across almost every kind of industry and workplace.
As someone who studies our relationship with technology,I’m in awe of the capability of this new technology. But as a university lecturer,it’s got me asking “What is important knowledge”? And moving forward what can (and should) we get AI to do for us,and what (will and should) remain as human thinking and output?
We cannot hold back the tsunami of AI that’s heading our way. While we may think of students as cheating if they use AI to do the assignments for them,can we also think of them as strategic,as making effective use of the resources they now have at hand? Which person would you employ? The crafty one who understands the capability of AI? Or the one who relies on old methods?
As universities gather in the first semester to discuss this turn of events,and how to reshape students’ assessments so we know it is their work,this can only be a momentary pause on the real issue. What is important knowledge today?