That's a good question. The big hullabaloo around AI and academic honesty hinges on that question: if students just use AI to cut corners and generate their essays, did they even learn anything other than how to use ChatGPT?
In the last two weeks, I have met with three different groups within my institution to talk about the seismic shift we are all experiencing, and that's been fantastic! A surprising number of my colleagues are really interested in resolving this issue, and learning how to use the technology to our advantage, and address it in the classroom. There's not the same urgency from administration (or at least not that has been clearly communicated to most faculty), and they're just missing out. It's been really heartening to talk with so many different people who are eager to take the challenges on, and see them get excited about the possibilities. I am a possibility FREAK. While I have been more than ready to bury my head in the sand at times over the last six months, that's a luxury and this is reality. And sometimes reality can be an incredibly exciting place!
Here are five very real uses of this insane invention that have emerged.
"Watch an A.I. Learn to Write by Reading Nothing but Jane Austen," Aatish Bhatia for the New York Times, April 27, 2023
If you have a subscription to the NYT, this is a fun interactive that shows you how it works. You can choose from 6 different author-sets that feed an author-bot!
"People are using A.I. chatbots to write Amazon reviews," Annie Palmer for CNBC, April 25, 2023
Be careful what you shop for? Fake reviews have been around for a while. But they don't start off saying, "As a pseudo-reviewer, I don't have a body..."
"AI can write your emails, reports, and essays. But can it express your emotions? Should it?" Jada Jones for ZDNet, April 22, 2023
If words are failing you, guess what? There's a bot for that. I can see where this might be somewhat helpful for a baseline, actually. But emotional voice and personality are some of the most enjoyable parts of what I read. There's a place for homogenized writing that's brisk and efficient. And a different place to articulate your deepest feelings.
"With Canva and Adobe’s new updates, the generative AI race enters the brand design space," Marty Swant for Digiday, March 23, 2023
On my list of things to play with in classes going forward are image generators. "They" do their "best work" when a user gives very specific instructions. I am always trying to get students to be more detailed and specific. I think this could be a fun way to demonstrate the difference between what you think you're communicating, and what you are communicating.
"We created 75 fun artificial intelligence (AI) pages you can use for free," BoredHumans.com (this probably says it all)
Not all of these are writing-based. They are just a fun set of what's possible when you play with the technology. Choose "This Pizza Does Not Exist" for the stuff of nightmares.
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