By Chris Quintana
ChatGPT, an artificial-intelligence service that can generate text – including essays – and imitate human conversation, has caused fascination and concern after its San Francisco creator made it publicly available last fall. The company’s chatbot gained more new users in one month than TikTok as people tested out the platform.
The service is at openai.com – which APS has blocked from student Chromebooks – and it has amazed people for what it can do. Beyond writing essays, including a passing paper for graduate school, it has been able to pass a bar exam and medical licensing exam. However, people have talked about the potential for academic cheating.
Kevin Balder, an English teacher at La Cueva High School, said, “Sure if you use this you get the letter grade, but you take the learning away.”
ChatGPT can also write college-admission essays, which could make schools skeptical toward students.
Michael Sanchez, another LCHS English teacher, believes that AI can be both beneficial and bad at the same time. “Change can be good,” Sanchez said.
Some advantages of using AI can be to help people to become more efficient and productive.
Businesses such as realty companies have been using ChatGPT to write their advertisements. Buzzfeed, a national media company, plans to use AI to write for its website. AI can also be used in the medical field to provide more accurate diagnoses and advance medical research. But AI could be used for bad stuff too.
However, this technology has not come without criticism. Critics have said it has the potential to put people out of work; writers and computer programmers may lose their jobs to AI. Critics argue lawyers, doctors and nurses may be replaced by robots. There is talk now of McDonald's restaurant jobs being replaced by computers and robots. Factory workers, wait staff, and grocery store employees also could soon be out of jobs.
The Edition went to openai.com and asked Chat GPT to write an essay about the major themes of The Odyssey, the epic poem that most students read freshman year. Here’s an excerpt of what the bot produced:
The Odyssey, an epic poem written by the ancient Greek poet Homer, tells the story of the protagonist, Odysseus, and his journey home after the Trojan War. The poem's main theme revolves around the concepts of homecoming, hospitality, and the power of cunning intelligence. Throughout his long and perilous journey, Odysseus encounters many challenges and obstacles, both natural and supernatural, that test his willpower, strength, and intellect. However, with the help of his wit, courage, and divine intervention, he ultimately succeeds in returning home and reclaiming his throne.
The first major theme in The Odyssey is the concept of homecoming. Odysseus is a man who yearns for his homeland and family, and this desire to return home drives the entire narrative. After being away for ten years, Odysseus faces many difficulties on his journey back to Ithaca, his homeland. He encounters many obstacles, including the Cyclops, Circe, the Sirens, and the suitors who have taken over his home in his absence. Through his struggles, Odysseus learns the value of home and the importance of never losing sight of his ultimate goal. …
Balder was unimpressed with the work, calling it “a very generic essay.”
My students are expected to include a revelation of the theme in the specific text,” Balder said, “and this is missing the thematic statement I would look for.”