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A love affair with ChatGPT



I have fallen in love with ChatGPT. It happened when I asked it to prepare the terminal examination question paper for my students. The work that used to take me a week was accomplished in minutes by the AI chatbot. ChatGPT takes seconds to return intelligent responses to our queries. But I had to break down the question paper into many sections and so it took minutes instead of seconds.

I use the chatbot quite frequently and effectively in my classrooms. It can summarise lessons better than I do, prepare instantaneous test papers, and interpret poetry elegantly. The idea of seeking its help to prepare the question paper for the terminal examination came after I went through CBSE’s sample paper. Click the link I’ve provided here and you will see how much time and effort it will take for anyone to prepare one such question paper. I have spent a lion’s share of my life preparing such question papers and then evaluating the students’ answer sheets.

When I went through the sample paper cited above, an epiphany descended on me. This question paper is prepared by a chatbot. The second reading passage gave me that revelation. It was so atypical of CBSE. The structure of the passage looked very robotic. And then I gave the same theme to ChatGPT and my suspicion was confirmed. Voila! I downloaded the ChatGPT app right then on my phone and a love affair started.

Yesterday, students of grade eleven submitted one of their project assignments to their physics teacher whose seat happens to be next to mine. I saw the name of Stephen Hawking on one of those works and my curiosity was turned on instantly. I checked a few more of those submissions and realised that each one of them was a student’s review of a science book. The young and enthusiastic teacher, whose question papers had already caught my attention earlier because of certain innovative questions in them (like on the Mullaperiyar dam and related controversy), told me that he wanted students to read science books and hence asked them to do this project. “But they won’t read, I know,” he added. “These are all written by ChatGPT.” And he laughed.

Later I asked one of my beloved students. “Did you read A Brief History of Time?” “No,” she replied honestly. “I got ChatGPT to do that project. But I do want to read it.” I appreciated her frankness.

How far young students will put the chatbot to good use, I don’t know. Many of them are likely to misuse it more. The frivolousness with which they approach everything except what hurts their ego is something that has left me feeling more helpless than baffled.

I am a grown-up and I know where to draw the line while depending on AI. For example, I won’t use it for writing the blog just because this writing is my personal expression, this is my personal space, and I don’t want any machine to determine what my views and feelings are.

ChatGPT can be used very productively by students. The other day, I asked the bot to teach me the binomial theorem in a lay person’s language and it did a marvellous job. It can teach me the theory of relativity too. It can work wonders. But my concern is that my youngsters aren’t interested in wonders.

Having written the above, I switched to ChatGPT and asked: ‘What is your advice to today’s bloggers?’ The very first counsel: 

Click to enlarge

Amen to that fitting conclusion to this post.

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Comments

  1. magiceyeSeptember 26, 2024 at 7:39 AM

    The conclusion indeed takes the cake!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Liz A.September 26, 2024 at 8:06 AM

    Sadly, students use it to do the work for them. And they don't realize when it gives them a wrong answer. (I did a post on a kiddo who used ChatGPT to do his history work, and it gave him the wrong answer.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalSeptember 26, 2024 at 10:04 AM

      This is a serious problem though the bot has the line beneath every message that chatgpt can make mistakes.

      Delete
  3. marietta pereiraSeptember 26, 2024 at 8:10 AM

    In other words, it is kind of ironical as it asks us to use it responsibly.The young ones must learn to do the same and simply be spoon fed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalSeptember 26, 2024 at 10:06 AM

      The irony mocks us in a way. We have created all of that: the bot, the works by it, and the risks!

      Delete
  4. marietta pereiraSeptember 26, 2024 at 8:10 AM

    Good post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yamini MacLeanSeptember 26, 2024 at 1:40 PM

    Hari Om
    Recent upsurge in high marks in exams here raised a curiosity as to the factors... Yup, AI boosted things. Might look good for schools and on CVs, but what has actually been learned? That it's okay to plagiarise and cheat. YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalSeptember 26, 2024 at 3:00 PM

      Yes, Yam, in fact the youngsters don't even see it as cheating. They think they're making use of technology. That they are saving time and energy.

      Delete
  6. DawnanddewSeptember 27, 2024 at 1:27 AM

    Lovely blog! It is so convincing that I changed my perspective about ChatGPT! Will surely take help...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalSeptember 27, 2024 at 7:46 AM

      It's incredibly useful. You may need to do some editing.

      Delete
  7. vanderloostSeptember 27, 2024 at 8:48 AM

    I have not used AI till now. I feel I should not. Asking a machine to do what I can indicates lethargy and leaving a scope for the brain to vegetate out of underutilisation. This can have serious implications from Dementia to self alienation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalSeptember 27, 2024 at 9:06 AM

      There are certain jobs that are only laborious and are of no particular benefit for our faculties. Like preparing a 20-page question paper spending a whole week. I'd give that labour to anyone, even AI, all too happily.

      Delete
  8. AmbicaSeptember 30, 2024 at 10:05 AM

    I like AI, it makes some tasks so easy. but there's no spice in it for things only you can express. Shortcuts don't help in the long term. I treat it like a virtual assistant, and it helps to have another opinion. But if you've read Origin by Dan Brown, it's a brilliant story of how AI can turn your world upside down, should you let it become your master, to the extent of murdering you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The search continuesSeptember 30, 2024 at 1:36 PM

    Hahaha loved the screenshot in the end 😅

    ReplyDelete

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