New AI Platform “Bard” Generates Debate Over Ethics and Benefits
The development of new artificial intelligence (AI) platforms has led to controversy on college campuses, including Cornell University. The AI platform ChatGPT has generated much debate, but Google’s new competitor, Bard, has now taken center stage. Bard will use video, audio, and text to answer user questions. Despite concerns from some educational institutions regarding AI's violation of academic integrity, some professors at Cornell University believe AI can be leveraged for the greater good, as per Prof. Sahara Byrne. She explained how faculty has already initiated efforts to incorporate AI into their curriculum. Byrne believes that faculty adjustments to artificial intelligence are not problematic and that it is up to students to use AI responsibly.
Prof. Joe Halpern, computer science, is another academic at Cornell University who shares Byrne’s positive outlook on the use of AI for educational purposes. He thinks that students could learn by interacting with a large language model like ChatGPT or Bard. However, Halpern believes that faculty will have to address the use of AI and its potential further advancements to maximize its benefits and address its ethical implications.
Cornell students also have conflicting opinions regarding the use of AI platforms. Carleigh Roche, an information science major, seems to share the optimism of Byrne and Halpern. She believes that AI can have benefits and drawbacks that are essential for the University to recognize. She compares Bard to former technological advancements that became common, hoping to eliminate the fear that Bard may provoke. Varsha Gande, a government major, finds ChatGPT helpful for summarizing assigned readings, but is fearful of rapid AI advances. She expressed concerns that Bard might be a gateway to harmful AI advances.
While there is still much unknown about the future of AI usage at Cornell, it will continue to create debates among students and faculty. As Byrne said, “Ethical and creative use of AI may be essential for students' success in life after college.”
