TP Venu
Will it lead to the death of essay writing? This is the question that everyone seems to be asking triggering debates, stories, fear, angst, hope, relief and many emotions depending on the individual and his profession. Students seem to giggle their way while teachers live in angst. This reminds us of a time when computers were making their way into our lives raising questions of loss of jobs, fear of being incomputerate and how could one fit into the new scheme of things.
Educators want students to learn the skill of writing and here the question of integrity crops up. The Chat GPT can dish out four paragraphs of a topic in 20 seconds flat in about 1,000 words. The grammar would be correct no doubt on that count but far from expectations on ideas and originality.
Teachers say it would kill homework. Few schools in the US banned ChatGPT in school devices but students will find other means. If the idea of cheating is annoying, policing can be worse. Suggestion that A I chatbots could be programmed to have watermarks have come up.
Amidst all the din, what is certain is ChatGPT is here to stay and it is upto the teaching fraternity to tweak the pedagogy, err pedAIgogy!
The good old essay written from the heart with feelings and experience can out beat any essay hands down. No amount of bots can beat or match human emotions and the creative genius of the human mind.
Math teachers faced a similar predicament when graphic calculators were introduced. Schools should start viewing ChatGPT and treat it as one would calculators.
ChatGPT analyses and produces a response that mimics natural human language. The word mimic is crucial in the definition which is akin to copying. Originality has its value and charm. The essay will never die thanks to the originality of each individual. Artificial will remain artificial, after all!