Artificial Intelligence, while being able to revolutionize several industries, can also impact student lives and the quality of work they produce. Most people use it in their day-to-day lives, from paying for dinner to using maps to reach destinations. Personally, as a college student, I use AI in almost every aspect of my life. I often turn to Google, an AI-driven search engine, to gather information for numerous academic projects.
ChatGPT, as its website defines, is an AI-powered language model developed by OpenAI, capable of generating human-like text based on context and past conversations. Many of my peers and I find this chatbot to be a valuable tool for our schoolwork. Granted, professors and others alike have concerns about its potential association with academic misconduct. I agree that using software to complete assignments is unfair and undermines the educational process.
Nevertheless, it's important to acknowledge that this technology is readily available to anyone who wishes to use it. We should explore ways to leverage this technological advancement to assist with our academic tasks responsibly.
One approach is to utilize ChatGPT as a resource for tasks that require less human input. Consider the analogy of using templates for business emails, resumes and other official documents. We often start with a template and then personalize it by adding specific details.
I recently applied this approach in my business writing class. The assignment required us to employ ChatGPT to compose a business email provided a specific prompt. Upon receiving ChatGPT's initial draft, I noticed it provided a well-structured and coherent message which seemed like a great template for my actual email. After getting the first draft, we were asked to make edits as we saw fit. I noticed my edits were all related to personalization and establishing a connection with the recipient. The AI provided an effective framework which reduced the time and effort put in by my peers and me, which I then built upon. As demonstrated in this class, I believe more courses at IU could benefit from the integration of ChatGPT and other AI technologies integral to our daily lives.
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By normalizing the use of AI, we can strike a balance between harnessing the capabilities of AI and maintaining the integrity of our academic work. It allows us to benefit from the efficiency and creativity that AI can offer while still requiring our active engagement and critical thinking in the revision process. In doing so, we uphold the principles of fairness and responsibility in our academic endeavors, ensuring that AI serves as a helpful tool rather than a shortcut to academic dishonesty.
Prakriti Khurana (she/her) is a sophomore studying finance.
