3 Academic Leaders Weigh in on ChatGPT's Place in Higher Education
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for some time in the education sector but recent advances in AI capabilities have raised important questions for educators. OpenAI's ChatGPT tool has caused concerns among higher education educators about academic integrity, and they are wondering how to integrate ChatGPT into their instruction without completely banning its use. A panel of academic leaders and faculty, moderated by Anthology academics, discussed these issues and examined ChatGPT’s impact on instruction, academic integrity, research, and student support.
Academic Integrity and ChatGPT
During the discussion, many academic leaders expressed concern regarding the use of ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots as cheating. Bryan Alexander, Senior Scholar at Georgetown University, said, "I think [higher-ed faculty] are going to be very worried about students plagiarizing. I don’t think this is the entire population, but I think the plagiarism arms race is definitely off and running and will continue to run for some time."
Suzanne Tapp, Assistant Vice Provost of Faculty Success and Executive Director of the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center at Texas Tech University, said, "My experience has been that faculty come from one of three perspectives. Maybe it’s a ‘fight-in’ perspective where they’re concerned, with good reasons, about what happens to academic dishonesty with the entry of such easily-accessed AI tools. Maybe it’s the ‘come use it’ perspective and they’re ready to jump in, or maybe they’re somewhere in the open-minded middle, watching to see what happens. And I think it’s fair to approach it from any of those perspectives."
Integrating ChatGPT into Instruction
The discussion also focused on how to integrate ChatGPT into instruction. Academic leaders suggested that ChatGPT could be used as a tool to enhance student learning and support. For instance, it could be used as an additional resource for students' research projects and to aid in the development of their writing skills.
Conclusion
While AI has the potential to revolutionize higher education, academic leaders must carefully assess the benefits and risks of its integration. As long as faculty remains vigilant in monitoring the use of AI tools and properly educating students on how to use these tools ethically, ChatGPT, and other AI chatbots can be valuable resources for students' academic success.
