By Mackenna Stewart
Imagine a world where instead of hiring a whole team of staff, you could just hire AI software. Well, this is a possibility with the new software, Chat GPT. Chat GPT is different from other AI software because it is a state-of-the-art natural language processing. Chap GPT uses neural network architecture which allows it to answer questions. Additionally, the software allows you to customize the chatbot to receive the kind of results you are looking for.
While Lovett has acknowledged some of the perks of Chat GPT, Lovett has also been introduced to some of its drawbacks. Eager to know a little more about this new Software, I decided to talk to Ms. Conway Brackett the US Academic Technology Director, who recently created a presentation on Chat GPT.
As I went into my interview, I was quite ignorant of the software and all of its capabilities, so I was super excited when Ms. Brackett asked me if I knew what Chat GPT Stood for, which happened to be my first question. “Generative Pretrained Transformer,” said Ms. Brackett, reading from the sticky note that she had written for me prior to our interview.
Chat GPT gets its name from the software that it uses, which is a Large Language Model created by Microsoft in partnership with Open AI. In fact, there is other software similar to Chat GPT that is circulating around now. For example, Google plans to create one of its own.
Although there are similarities between all of this software, there are still some major differences, which can be found in their algorithms. Chat GPT analyzes patterns of language and uses these patterns to generate responses. While this factor makes Chat GPT different and almost better than other software, the responses aren’t always accurate. For example, the software may be ignorant of information and events that have occurred after 2021. Additionally, because the software is controlled by humans feeding it information, the responses are sometimes biased. Which to me seemed kind of odd to think about. I wondered why would humans create a machine that is just as erroneous as the human mind?
“It sees the words and puts them together to sound like human speech,” Mrs. Brackett told me almost as if she could read my mind. “And sometimes it does this very well, but it doesn’t have personal experience, creativity, and thought process,” she added. A common misconception is that software such as Chat GPT is perfect and has all the right answers, but in a lot of cases they don’t. Unlike a search engine, Chat GPT doesn’t have the ability to identify keywords in the search bar and give you loads of sources.
“Google is a search engine. You’re looking for something specific, it’ll give you the references for it.” Ms. Brackett explained. Chat GPT is different because you don’t know where it’s pulling its information from, so not only could the information come from anywhere but it also might not be accurate.
While there are many drawbacks, Ms. Conway reassures me that there may be some opportunities to utilize Chat GPT. As Ms. Conway has been playing around with it herself, she has found that it gives her a template to work with. “Let’s say I need to write a field trip form. I tell it (Chat GPT) what to do, and there it is.” Mrs. Brackett said expressing how easy it was. She also used Chat GPT to see how it would work if she was to write a job recommendation for her friend. Unfortunately, the results that Chat GPT generated didn’t sound like her, but it just goes to show the potential that the software has.
What was most astonishing was when Mrs. Brackett explained how she put random ingredients that she had in her house into the software and it gave her a recipe. Imagine using Chat GPT instead of Uber Eats! Chat GPT can be used to do things that a person would do on a regular basis. For example, sometimes people use the automatic email responses that Gmail generates.
However, from a teacher’s point of view, Chat GPT isn’t always the most exciting. “Well we first want you guys to be able to communicate and we want you to do your own work,” Ms. Brackett explained. Oftentimes when Chat GPT is used for school, it prevents students from being independent thinkers. Teachers would rather students try to do assignments on their own and learn from their mistakes, than use software as a crutch, which might even be inaccurate. Oh, and by the way, Chat GPT is only for people who are 18 and older. So take that as you will.
As of right now, Lovett teachers are playing with the software to see what it’s capable of. While there aren’t any policies against it, it is an honor code violation to turn in assignments that make use of Chat GPT. A few cases have already gone before the Honor Council. So far I have heard from a couple teachers that students are using it to write their essays. While this can be tempting, teachers are warning students to rely on their own creativity to complete assignments.
Because Chat GPT is so new, it is in the best interest of students to stay away from it. “Even Chat GPT doesn’t know what it wants to do yet,” said Mrs. Brackett. She predicts that there may be a paid version or watermarked patent in the near future.
In some ways Chat GPT is also scary. We always see movies where the machines that humans create take over the world and steal all the jobs. Essentially, our worst fear is us. Humans desire to make the world easier can be dangerous. Finally, Mrs. Brackett wants students to always fact-check. “Misinformation and disinformation are what we really have to worry about in this age,” Ms. Brackett said.
