By Scarlett Adams
On a Monday evening last winter, as I settled in to watch and analyze a film in my Environmental Studies class, a wave of shock spread through the lecture hall when my professor began by addressing two topics that no student wants to ever hear about: plagiarism and academic dishonesty.
The professor solemnly broke the news that so many students had used the artificial intelligence resource ChatGPT to write a midterm essay, that the entire class’s grades were in jeopardy. An overwhelming 60% of students had used ChatGPT to complete the paper, blurring the lines between AI-generated work and student-produced work. Having not used it myself, I left that class stunned and somewhat pensive, wondering about the implications of this new AI resource and my own academic work.
UCSB Student journalist and communication major Scarlett Adams
The next day, in my Writing and Rhetoric class, the professor excitedly informed us of a great new AI technology — ChatGPT — that would revolutionize the way everybody writes and researches. The software is able to produce such eloquent, human-like essays, as well as answer virtually almost any question you may have, he said. He devoted the entire class that day to exploring the software, hoping to show us the potential flaws of AI usage, as well as the many benefits.
These two back-to-back encounters with ChatGPT alerted me to the looming prevalence of AI in school and research. These two professors had polar opposite views of the same technology, both accurate assessments of its effects. It made me wonder, as a student, how to appropriately navigate ChatGPT. How should we college students strike a balance between avoiding academic dishonesty and adding a brand-new resource to our skillsets.? With this seemingly unlimited power placed just a click away, I recognized our responsibility as students to use this new technology with integrity.
I decided to do some research to see exactly how ChatGPT works, and how it could be used to cheat or to aid students. I played around with it and came to see that this tool certainly presents a risk to verification and honesty in one’s work. For example, I asked it to write a research paper with sources cited, but it cut off in the middle of the text and did not provide any sources per my request. I also asked ChatGPT if it could write, once again with cited sources, about the risks of using AI software. It refused my request, stating that as an AI language model, it could not produce sources to “negate my own validity.” That response encapsulates my biggest takeaway: Although ChatGPT can write a paper for me in less than a minute, although it can answer almost any question, it is not my own voice. It is another’s voice.
A few features of how Chat.GPT works, including the generated examples, capabilities, and limitations
Writing, and the totality of academic work we put out is a reflection of ourselves. While I enjoyed playing around with ChatGPT and have used it to help answer my more practical, applied, academic questions—such as how to structure a writing a research paper or a cover letter— I know that my own voice is of higher value when it comes to creative work.
ChatGPT is a new and exciting tool, a tool that professors and students alike must adapt to and work with. Working to familiarize oneself with the software by playing around with it, asking it questions, and testing its parameters as a computer-generated information resource is the best way to learn how to make it work effectively for one’s own academic experience.
It can be extremely useful in explaining certain concepts that may be missed in a lecture, or to clarify a topic a student is struggling with. It also can provide information on general issues, such as how to jumpstart a car, or how to change a lightbulb. My roommate used it just the other day to learn about the steps to register her car with the DMV. ChatGPT has also assisted international students to better express themselves while writing in a second language.
Using ChatGPT as a resource, and not a replacement for one’s own academic thought-process, is how a student should approach the software. Transparency, namely citing when the AI tool has been used, is the responsible course of action. Using this resource should not be shunned, nor should we discount the academic effort of students when it is used. Rather, it should be explored by professors and students alike, to collaboratively seek common ground and establish academic expectations for the use of ChatGPT. Total reliance on artificial intelligence would be a waste of an educational experience. But, when used in an intentional manner, ChatGPT can enrich our educational experience.
Scarlett Adams is a third-year Communication student at UC Santa Barbara. She covered this event for her Digital Journalism class.