Students and ChatGPT | What the Tech?

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — Many wondered if students would use ChatGPT as a homework helper, or to do their work for them.

AI expert Francois Chollet, of Google Deep Learning, looked closer into whether students used ChatGPT for school. Chollet checked Google search terms.

When school was in session last spring, searches for ChatGPT topped searches for Minecraft. Then, during the summer, searches for ChatGPT dropped.

And, again, searches for ChatGPT spiked again as students began doing homework.

That’s telling – and teachers are having real trouble determining if a paper was written by a student or by ChatGPT.

Some teachers think they can find out just by asking ChatGPT.

To find out if it works, we asked ChatGPT to write a 100-page paper on Thomas Jefferson. Then, we entered the report back into ChatGPT and asked if it had written the paper.

ChatGPT confirmed it did. At least the first time.

What gives? ChatGPT’s teachers’ resource page notes sometimes ChatGPT makes up responses to questions like “Did you write this?” They added the responses are random and have no basis in fact.

Some teachers are using this technique to hopefully find out whether a paper was written by a student or AI. As far as we can found, and ChatGPT says, it’s not a reliable way to tell.

Many school districts and universities created new policies regarding AI-generated content. ChatGPT also released an updated guide for teachers just a couple of weeks ago.

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