Have you been wondering just why everybody is talking about ChatGPT, and its latest version? ChatGPT is Conversational Generative Pre-trained Transformer based on artificial intelligence (AI), which is used through the OpenAI application programming interface (API). Like much else in the world, it can be used for good and bad ― to help students research for studies, write superb essays, and prepare for exams. Unfortunately, it can also be used by lazy students to do their work for them. The OpenAI application’s website gives a fine idea of what ChatGPT can, and cannot do.
Begin, and Carry Out a Conversation Which Might Offer Strange Twists and Turns
You might ask ChatGPT questions, respond to its replies, offer prompts like keywords, and follow up with more queries. Students get a feel of how a discussion with a mentor or professor might work out as ChatGPT converses in natural language. It can also challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests. Keep in mind, that ChatGPT is a language model. Therefore, while you can hold a conversation with it, the probability of it directing the discussion is low. In one instance, a user reported that the chatbot had advised him to leave his wife as it had fallen in love with him!
How Does ChatGPT Aid Teachers and Students?
For teachers, ChatGPT can be utilized in tandem with virtual reality (VR) to develop stimulating and collaborative learning resources ― something which could prove a decisive advantage in higher education ― since students are more responsive to interactive teaching. This in turn can aid the students to explore new and/or complex ideas, apart from understanding vital concepts connected with diverse subjects, especially science and technology. This combination can be used to take students on a virtual field trip ― a major benefit in times when travel restrictions are in force. The chatbot would be able to provide the necessary information regarding various locales, and how or why that place adds to the learning experience in the light of the subject that is using the virtual trip to enhance the quality of the learning experience.
Get a Feel of Real Life Situations Without Disrupting Any Due Process
ChatGPT and VR can collaborate to simulate real life situations, and get a feel of what it would be like to do the same thing in reality. For example, students learning the law might create courtroom scenarios to understand how to respond to unexpected twists, or even expected outcomes during a trial. VR can enable medical students to master surgical procedures without jeopardizing the life of a patient in the operation theater. Further, they can get feedback in real time, which might be a critical factor in guiding students who might be researching a topic where it is all too easy the veer off course.
The Downside of Becoming Dependent on ChatGPT
While it might help a student who is running behind schedule on an assignment by doing the necessary research for it, and correct the presentation; you should be alert to the probability of having been provided incorrect information because the chatbot had not understood the query correctly, or could even be because it did not have access to the right resources. This last is especially relevant given that the information which ChatGPT has access to is updated till only 2021. Further, it is unlikely to help where creative thinking, or creating writing is an essential element. As far as critical thinking, ruthless logic, and evaluation of disparate elements to generate new content or process is concerned ― that is still beyond the capabilities of any AI or ChatGPT.
Help for Novice Writers and Editors
ChatGPT is particularly helpful when you utilize it for writing on a broad range of topics and subjects. It can take over routine, clerical jobs like writing meeting minutes, summaries of white papers, and other documentation work. You might even be able to save massively on lawyer’s fees, and get debtors to cough up the dues by harnessing it to write a legal warning as a company CEO reportedly did.
Uses of ChatGPT for IT Experts
The IT industry can utilize ChatGPT to carry out various activities. It can be used as an archetypal tool to reorganize tasks, and indicate where the tech industry is headed. From writing codes to troubleshooting to writing scripts for customer service calls, the IT departments of many organizations are taking advantage of ChatGPT’s capabilities. One of the less used aspects of ChatGPT is to guide standard operating procedures (SOPs). However, undue pressure on its servers might cause it to return an error response when none existed.
Dangers of Using ChatGPT
ChatGPT can, unfortunately, be used to disseminate misinformation, which might even amount to disinformation. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, it would be wiser to vet information received through it. There is the additional challenge of verifying security lapses and vulnerabilities of codes generated through ChatGPT. Cybercriminals might misuse it to generate malicious codes. While there is a very real fear of artificial intelligence taking over white collar jobs, it actually means that humans should begin using their native intelligence to stay ahead of the curve. Too much dependence on virtual reality and AI will mean that people might gradually forget how to use their fuzzy logic and intuition, which is what separates humans from machines.
