Adam Au

Opinion | Inevitable rise of ChatGPT and other AI tools must be managed rather than resisted

Teachers fear the end of mainstream teaching with the advent of AI tools that can spit out instant essays, displacing our ability to think, create and collaborate

But a ban is not the answer, instead students must be taught to analyse and challenge received wisdom, to wield the power of technology and sidestep the limitations

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A ChatGPT prompt is shown on a device near a public school in Brooklyn, New York, on January 5. New York City school officials have started to block the impressive but controversial writing tool that can generate paragraphs of human-like text. Photo: AP

Adam Au

Published: 1:00am, 7 Feb 2023Updated: 3:10am, 7 Feb 2023

We live in an age of technological bonanzas. From virtual learning to wireless exchange, we are consumed by the euphoria of technological convenience. Such astonishing developments underline how beholden we have become to technology.

Pandemic shutdowns galvanised education innovation and online learning has become an accepted alternative to classroom learning. But online interaction cannot simulate the experience of speaking face to face. Even with the much-touted metaverse, it is quixotic to assume it can displace physical learning.

The recent debut of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-backed chatbot, raised fears that technology might be overstepping the boundary. With minimal input and in an instant, the tool can produce anything from essay assignments and legal briefs to science studies, maths solutions and computer code.

Such AI ecosystems and their progeny have sent many educators into a frenzy. Many fear the end of mainstream schooling. Who needs teachers when a computer can halve the teaching and learning time while doubling the reach?

This revolution in education is ironic at best and dangerous at worst. Our dedication to pursuing technical excellence has culminated in the creation of a sophisticated tool that could displace our ability to think, create and collaborate.

Such skills used to be founded in deep-rooted pedagogy, refined through classroom discussions and forged collaboratively. Now, all could be replaced by the click of a mouse.