EDUCATION
NE YEAR AGO, CHATGPT DIDN’T exist. Today, it’s a close friend to many. But for students and teachers in Maricopa schools, the question is this: How close a friendship should that be? For better or worse, ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence programs freely available online have stormed the walls of Maricopa schools. Educators, administrators and students are harnessing the power and shouldering the dangers of AI as they reconcile the permanence of this new technology. Students and teachers can lean into the new paradigm, using it to tailor instruction, write lesson plans and even complete entire assignments. Forget-me-bot Talitha Martin, a 12th grade English teacher at Maricopa High School, worries reliance on AI harms students' critical thinking skills. Naturally, she believes language is a crucial means of expression and exploration. When ChatGPT can write, rewrite and edit a document, it strips students of their learning experience. “While adults may have more knowledge of their own voice in writing, students are still working out their understanding and command of language,” Martin said. Introducing something so extreme during a phase characterized by learning from one’s mistakes is a tough pill to swallow. “This is a time when their brains need to be focused on their own thoughts and expression,” Martin said of her pupils, "not just dumping pre-formed word clusters onto a page.” Abusing chatbot output as a substitute for original thought also brings up ethical concerns, such as plagiarism and cheating. Martin said she hopes to teach her students to evaluate and understand concepts in their own minds rather than test their “copy and paste” skills. But just because students can doesn’t mean they will. Maricopa High School senior Nicolas Yendrzeski pointed out there are other ways to cheat when doing assignments at home, on personal computers far away from the district’s restrictions. It’s nothing new — but that doesn’t make every student a likely cheater. “It’s a whole different playing field at home,” Yendrzeski said. “But I don’t use it for school because I know that it’s frowned upon. I’d rather do my own work with my own name.” O
Learning curve Artificial, human intelligence tangle in Maricopa schools BY CAMERON JOBSON
Nicolas Yendrzeski
Although he avoids chatbots in the classroom, he said they're “fun to mess around with” in his free time. Unchartered waters The Maricopa Unified School District does not have a method to detect AI, but some teachers have already noticed its implementation.
“While adults may have more knowledge of their own voice in writing, students are still working out their understanding and command of language.” TALITHA MARTIN, 12TH GRADE TEACHER
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ALEXA, WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE? Artificial intelligence has seamlessly integrated itself into virtually every facet of modern life. It’s revolutionizing the way we interact with technology in a way most see as more significant than the birth of the internet. Whether an Amazon Alexa device turns on the lights in your kitchen or Siri places a call on your iPhone, AI is all around. It feels familiar because it simulates human intelligence. Computers can now make decisions, recognize patterns, solve problems and understand natural language.
answer complex questions within seconds. As new as it feels, artificial intelligence has loomed behind the scenes for years. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu use AI predictions to recommend shows and movies, while social platforms like Facebook and YouTube use AI to suggest and organize posts in your feed. In 1958, early computer scientists H. A. Simon and Allen Newell predicted “a digital computer will be the world's chess champion” and “a digital computer will discover and prove an important new mathematical theorem” within a decade. It’s been 65 years, but they finally got it right.
Take ChatGPT for
example; a chatbot that exploded into the mainstream after its launch just 10 months ago. Unlike traditional AI systems designed for specific tasks — like when Alexa lets you know your chicken is done baking — generative AI creates brand new text, images and even music and video. ChatGPT can compose emails, write essays and
InMaricopa.com | October 2023
October 2023 | InMaricopa.com
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