5 ways ChatGPT will disrupt higher education

Artificial intelligence has taken a big leap forward in 2023. The public release of the next generation of chatbots is completely redefining this technology. ChatGPT has been given the most attention, but similar projects are coming or already being launched. One of the amazing things about these new bots is their ability to simulate original human writing on almost any topic with surprisingly high detail.

This has raised questions about how universities and other higher education institutions will deal with the new technology. How can students be evaluated fairly if chatbots can write their assignments, and what is the purpose of learning to write essays if the process can now be fully automated? This article?explains?five ways chatbots like ChatGPT will disrupt higher education in the coming years.

1. Essays need to be longer and more detailed

A core part of how students are evaluated today is through essays. Asking students to write their thoughts or arguments about a subject in a relatively short and focused manner is an effective and convenient way for professors to evaluate their students' understanding of the subject. The new chatbots will greatly impact this practice.

Because the chatbots can easily produce a few pages of relatively coherent and original arguments or descriptions of most subjects given the right prompts, professors will have no way of knowing if students have written essays themselves. The best way to counter this is to stop using short and descriptive essays for graded work. Instead, professors must focus on fewer and longer essays with more complex and in-depth arguments, as chatbots struggle to produce these.

2. New emphasis on providing context and justifications

Higher education will need to focus more on teaching students to make complex and in-depth arguments. As artificial intelligence is developing at a very high speed, education needs to adapt equally fast to give students the skills needed to function in a world where this technology is widely and easily available. One thing artificial intelligence still can't do is actually understand things. It just mimics responses it has seen others give in the hope that those replays are relevant. As such, chatbots generally cannot justify their responses in any depth and are also unable to explain the context of the subject should be understood in. Focusing on these skills will mean that students won't compete with chatbots for work, and testing these skills will make it difficult or impossible for students to use chatbots in their work.

3. More written exams need to be on-site

Some universities have begun to conduct written exams online, allowing students to be wherever they like during the exam. This became widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic due to difficulties with regard to gathering large groups of people in physical locations. This practice of doing written exams online will probably need to stop again, as it will be very difficult to limit the use of chatbots under those circumstances. Doing those exams on-site would allow the students to be monitored so they only use the permitted resources for that exam. It was already common to forbid the use of the Internet during written exams, and this would automatically also forbid the use of chatbots.

4. More oral presentations

A good way to assess whether a student has understood a subject is to ask them to explain the subject orally. Having students present an oral defense of an essay while the professor asks them for clarifications and extrapolations on their arguments will probably be the surest way to test personal skills and competencies moving forward. The advent of chatbots likely will mean a greater focus on oral presentations across all higher education.

5. Finding sources

A thing the chatbots already do very well is provide a generic introduction to any subject. They can even provide a list of sources for that introduction if prompted. This can provide a good starting point for anyone looking to research a subject they are unfamiliar with. Chatbots will probably start to play a positive role in research as a starting point for literature searches and similar things. This can be a good thing if done properly and if sufficient diligence is applied to checking the results provided.

Conclusion

Bots are here to stay. Whether you consider chatbots a blessing or a curse, you will need to adapt to a world where they are the new normal. As always happens after a disruption, a new normal will be established where the disrupting element gets its own place. That will also be the case for chatbots like ChatGPT. Getting used to their presence and finding a way to adjust is the only way forward. If this is done well, there are certainly ways that chatbots can positively impact higher education. The alternative to embracing this technology is to be left behind by the unstoppable march of progress.

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