Questions, answered: Is it ethical to use ChatGPT in class?
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In the final stretch of the spring semester, whispers about my classmates using ChatGPT on their assignments became impossible to ignore. It was a new experience for me; I’d always prided myself on my independent approach to academics, shunning any external assistance, especially Artificial Intelligence. But as the weeks went by, it became evident that my grades were lagging behind those of my peers who had embraced the technological aid.
In the end, I stuck to my old ways, determined to rely solely on my own knowledge and abilities. When the semester concluded, though, I noticed that I’d finished the class a whole letter grade below the average. It left me with a lingering question: was I wrong for not giving AI a chance? Did I miss an opportunity to excel, or did I uphold my principles at the cost of academic success?
We asked members of the Syracuse University community for their opinion on how to best approach this situation:
Eda Imer, sophomore majoring in Information Management and Technology
Staying true to myself is the key to my own success, but ChatGPT is still a great tool when we need 24/7 access to specialized information from around the Internet. The issue lies in our full trust of the platform.
AI requires specific and confidential information about oneself to operate at its full potential, and many don’t seem to realize it. The data privacy and security-related issues are only getting bigger, and the sensitive information that each student provides is starting to become a problem that many are ignorant of.
While a student can copy-paste their homework question and get an artificially-generated answer, there are over a hundred students in the same class doing the same thing. The AI search engine browses the entire web for specific information and only outputs the most popular option, with a mix of its own words. It’s trained to be biased, as whoever’s training it is using biased and opinionated data to show the machine what’s right and wrong.
When students use it, they simply think the answer generated is right because, “ChatGPT said so” which can lead to false claims and can potentially harm different individuals and organizations. Figuring out how and when to use AI-generated browsers efficiently is the biggest problem, not AI itself.
Divya Gada, senior majoring in Finance and International Relations
I can’t say I’m well-versed in ChatGPT or even AI technology as a whole, but ever since last spring it seems like the site is constantly open on most students’ computers. Truthfully, I’ve never made an account or used it for an assignment at SU, but in my pursuit of taking the higher moral road, I can’t help but feel like I’m starting assignments five steps behind others.
I can see how helpful the tool can be with research, summarization and further explanations, and I think it can be helpful in the idea-generation process. But the actual execution of assignments requires actual human thinking. I take pride in my academic work when I know it’s mine.
Bridget Overby | Presentation Director
Jish Sokolsky, sophomore majoring in Broadcast and Digital Journalism
I have an odd relationship with ChatGPT. I’ve used it once, but always viewed it as a tool that would make me lazy. Even though I don’t personally find use for it right now, I see no ethical issues with it.
ChatGPT is more than just a tool to help you cheat on big writing assignments. AI tools can help cut down the long and laborious time it takes to understand large documents. I think of court documents, for example; there’s no reason to spend hours sifting through them when a tool can tell you what you need to know in seconds. The same way email expedited how we communicate, AI can do the same with how we process information.
When it comes to writing, however, it’s best to avoid ChatGPT unless it’s for copy edits. Effective writing relies a lot on personality, which is taken away when a robot writes instead of a human. In that sense, I understand why professors dislike it and why it’s seen as cheating. But if there are long readings, I don’t see how an AI-generated summary could hurt.
Sarhia Rahim, junior majoring in Policy Studies
From my own experiences and speaking with peers, ChatGPT isn’t the magical AI that can write you an entire essay or offer answers to a quiz for an easy A. The best way to get the most out of ChatGPT is to use it more like an outline or to simplify questions, readings and more. It’s a support program, like a grammar tool or even a citation generator. Instead of rewriting your work to sound like a high level academic paper, it just gives suggestions on proper punctuation on the work you provide. ChatGPT helps me outline papers, fix grammar and better understand readings in class.
The AI can learn over time how to sound like you, but that’s a lot more labor than writing your own essay and simply asking it to find grammatical errors. Since the AI is learning as it goes, you have to provide it information to get the results you want. It requires you to be specific and provide research and information since it only has a set list of resources, publications and more it can take from. There’s more risk allowing it to do all the work for you; it can’t accurately “Google” or look through a library’s archive online. Often, ChatGPT is wrong.
Instead, simply put in the effort to write your own work and use ChatGPT to be your online TA before your real one grades it.
Sofia Kissel, sophomore majoring in Magazine and Digital Journalism
As a student entering the field of journalism, I view AI as an extremely helpful resource, and thankfully, my professors agree.
In my Cross-Media Production class, we’ve been working with ChatGPT in a way that strays from any malicious intent. Journalistic documents and reports are often verbose, and ChatGPT provides a unique opportunity to decipher text proficiently. It’s a useful tool for creating headlines, developing unique interview questions, establishing structure and acting as a guide to spark creative work for individuals. Perception dictates the ethical correctness of AI; there are those who abuse it, and others, like me, who utilize it.
Learn how to use ChatGPT’s ambitious intelligence in a valuable and constructive way. Your classmates are using it to replicate their work, you can use it to elevate yours.
To submit a question to “Questions, answered,” email [email protected].
This edition of “Questions, answered” was guided by columnist Ronan Hussar, a sophomore Finance major. He can be reached at [email protected].
