An innovative study by the University of Plymouth, primarily composed using the software, suggests that ChatGPT holds great potential for creating new and exciting opportunities in the academic community.
Launched in November 2022, this latest chatbot and artificial intelligence (AI) platform is being hailed as a potential game-changer in the fields of research and education. Yet, as its capabilities continue to advance, ChatGPT also presents significant challenges for the education sector, particularly in terms of maintaining academic integrity and preventing plagiarism.
The potential benefits of this cutting-edge technology are vast, but its impact on academic norms and standards must be carefully considered. The impressive capabilities of Large Language Machines (LLMs) are on full display as the researchers aimed to explore their potential impact on higher education.
Academic content
The study showcases ChatGPT’s ability to produce academic-style content on various topics, including the implications of GPT-3 for assessment in higher education and strategies for preventing plagiarism using LLMs.
To generate the content, the researchers provided ChatGPT with a series of prompts and questions, which it responded to with insightful and thought-provoking text. They then incorporated the generated content into the manuscript, ordered it according to ChatGPT’s suggested structure, and added genuine references throughout. This process was only disclosed in the Discussion section of the paper, which was written solely by the researchers.
While the study’s findings demonstrate the remarkable sophistication of ChatGPT and other LLMs, the authors caution that these technologies can still produce relatively formulaic text, which can be detected by existing AI-detection tools. This highlights the need for university staff to carefully design assessments and educate students on the dangers of academic dishonesty.
Pros and cons
Overall, this study serves as a reminder of the potential benefits and risks associated with the use of LLMs in higher education, and the importance of thoughtful and proactive approaches to their integration.
“This latest AI development obviously brings huge challenges for universities, not least in testing student knowledge and teaching writing skills—but looking positively it is an opportunity for us to rethink what we want students to learn and why,” the researchers explain.
“Banning ChatGPT, as was done within New York schools, can only be a short-term solution while we think how to address the issues. AI is already widely accessible to students outside their institutions, and companies like Microsoft and Google are rapidly incorporating it into search engines and Office suites. The chat (sic) is already out of the bag, and the challenge for universities will be to adapt to a paradigm where the use of AI is the expected norm.”
Dr. Reuben Shipway, Lecturer in Marine Biology at the University of Plymouth, said, “With any new revolutionary technology—and this is a revolutionary technology—there will be winners and losers. The losers will be those that fail to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape. The winners will take a pragmatic approach and leverage this technology to their advantage.”
