Brains. Robots. Emotions. Chatgpt, an artificial intelligence that portrays human-like conversation. Chatgpt has led to many opinions here at West Leyden, students believe it should be allowed for help and guidance. But on the side of the spectrum, teachers believe it shouldn’t be allowed as it’s considered cheating.
Chapgpt has been around since 2022, and Leyden staff and students have different perspectives on the uses; students tend to love it for its fast thinking and easy access. On the other hand, many teachers oppose this since they worry students are too reliant on technology and the development of the students’ thinking.
Before Chatgpt was invented, students often had to spend a lot of time searching for information online. Having to navigate through a significant amount of websites, articles, and resources to find the information they needed. Nowadays people use Chat Gpt that has made this process even more quicker and efficient. But in the future it will possibly become even smarter and more helpful for learning students.
Here is how it works according to Tech Target, a data based center, “AI-powered chatbot that answers questions and prompts in any format you request. It can carry out a humanlike conversation or write various content such as articles, social media posts, essays, emails and even code” (TechTarget).
Many people believe that Chatgpt is considered cheating and will only come in between tests. “Well the problem with students is that they tend to use things to do as little work as possible,” said Mr. Bailey, a social studies teacher here at West Leyden. “What students need to do is the thinking and if you’re Chatgpt to do your thinking for you, yes it is going to have a negative impact on your ability to be successful in class,” he continues to argue. Mr. Hogan agrees with Mr. Bailey’s support by saying, “I worry that some students might go to be independent of it; they want the AI to do all their thinking.” Many schools around America also argue that, “Chatgpt has the potential to facilitate cheating by students without being detected, most likely through plagiarism”(Mintz). Many users don’t know the impact ChatGpt can have on its own. The Making Ai Work for the American People reported, “Long-term risks could encompass the growth in the intensification of power asymmetries and concentration of control, possibility of super intelligent AI acting in ways misaligned with human values, and the potential for autonomous weapon systems that could change the nature of warfare without proper oversight” (Findings).
On the other hand, students believe Chatgpt is a helpful guide through their school work. Freshman Emily Marin, high school Leyden cheerleader, says, “I think it’s good because it gives us a lot of useful information really quickly, and also if used in the right way it can enhance a students ability to do work.” Students enjoy using Chatgpt due to the fact it helps them understand their academic work. Aileen Alveraez supports this statement by saying, “I think it’s very convenient when doing work” she continues , “it’s just a very helpful guide in my learning it’s also an additional resource that helps continue a lot of my work and it always super easy for me to get in hold of it.”
According to the American Psychological Association, “artificial intelligence can help prepare students for the real world by encouraging critical thinking—with a few caveats.”
Larissa Nevarez, a High School Student at West Leyden, agrees with the APA and says, “Sometimes when my teachers don’t know how to explain stuff to me, I ask my chatgpt and it examples it better,” she continues saying “but if you’re just asking for help, or clarity, I believe that it would improve a students learning”.
Although these resources are helpful, they can also be used to gain an unfair academic advantage and may violate the CSUB Student Conduct Code and the Academic Integrity Policy in many schools.
Chatgpt can be very helpful if used correctly. It’s a tool that will only improve over time. When used as a guide, it can lead to very positive outcomes. However, if misused, such as for plagiarism, Ai can cause many long-term negative effects on a student and could lead to a potential harm in the future of their academics.
