Additional Coverage:
- A teacher caught students using ChatGPT on their first assignment to introduce themselves. Her post about it started a debate. (newsbreak.com)
A photo shows Professor Megan Fritts, who recently discovered several of her students using ChatGPT to complete assignments at the start of the semester.
image credit: picture alliance/Getty Images
### Key Points:
– Students used ChatGPT for a simple introductory ethics and technology class assignment.
– Professor Megan Fritts expressed concerns on social media, prompting a debate about AI’s role in education.
– Educators are split on the impact of AI, with some believing it diminishes critical thinking skills.
For her first assignment in the Ethics and Technology course, Professor Megan Fritts asked her students to briefly introduce themselves and share their expectations for the class. Despite the simplicity of the task, many students turned to ChatGPT for their responses.
“They all admitted to it,” Fritts told Business Insider. “It was surprising that for such an easy task, they felt the need to use AI.”
Fritts, an assistant philosophy professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, voiced her concerns on Twitter, now rebranded as X. Her tweet received 3.5 million views, with replies suggesting that students naturally resort to AI for low-effort tasks. Second week into the semester, Fritts tweeted, “Students used ChatGPT to write their first assignment and even to formulate questions during class.”
The introductory exercise aimed to help students familiarize themselves with the Blackboard discussion board and satisfy Fritts’ genuine curiosity about their expectations. However, AI-generated responses mimicked generic course descriptions, missing the personal insights Fritts was looking for. “You can tell when it’s an AI-written essay,” she remarked.
### ChatGPT vs. Calculators: A Different Ballgame
Fritts contested the common argument comparing ChatGPT to calculators. She emphasized that while calculators expedite mechanical tasks to reach a correct solution, the aim of humanities education is to cultivate independent thinking.
“The goal is to create liberated minds, and outsourcing thinking to a machine defeats that purpose,” she said.
### Impact on Students
Fritts noted that students’ thinking abilities are generally compromised, an issue they themselves acknowledge.
“Many students tell me they used to love reading but now struggle to get through a book chapter due to constant distractions from their phones,” she said. This decline in focus and agency ties back to technology addiction.
A 2015 paper by Professor Charles Harvey of the University of Central Arkansas examined how technology affects human agency and concentration. The study found that people often skim online texts, diminishing their ability to engage deeply with content.
### Educator Fatigue and AI Literacy
Fritts believes educators must teach students the productive use of AI but feels it’s unrealistic to put the onus solely on them.
“Students aren’t using AI just because they love new tech; they’re looking for shortcuts,” she said. She also expressed skepticism about institutions uniting against AI in classrooms, as many are encouraged to integrate it into their curriculum.
State guidelines are emerging, and a survey by EdWeek Research Center reported that 56% of over 900 educators anticipate an increase in AI usage. Educators like Curby Alexander at Texas Christian University see AI as a tool to save class time. On the other hand, some professors are reverting to pen-and-paper methods to combat AI, feeling exhausted from the struggle.
The adoption of AI in education has left students feeling torn between differing opinions of their educators. Some see those who resist AI as out of touch or overly strict.
### The Growing Concerns of Educators
Fritts isn’t alone in her worries.
A Reddit thread revealed multiple professors lamenting the rise of AI in classrooms, especially in online courses. One professor even considered leaving academia, distressed by AI’s influence on teaching.
### Conclusion
The debate over AI in education is intensifying, dividing educators and complicating the learning environment for students. The original article can be found on Business Insider.