Marisa Shuman’s computer science class at the School of Young Women Leadership of the Bronx in New York City began as usual one morning in January. Just after 11:30 a.m., the high school students made their way to a white board where Shuman had written a question about wearable technology.
For the first time in his career, Shuman had generated the lesson plan using ChatGPT, a chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to deliver written responses to questions in clear prose. She was using the lesson to examine its usefulness and its dangers.
“I don’t care if they learn anything about wearable technology today,” Shuman said. “We are evaluating ChatGPT.”
American universities and school districts are racing to grapple with new chatbots that can generate human-like text and images. But while many are banning ChatGPT to try to avoid cheating, masters like Shuman are using the innovations to stimulate critical thinking.. The goal, they say, is to train the next generation in “critical computing,” in which to understand how to criticize algorithms It is just as important as knowing how to program computers.
New York City Public Schools are training computer science teachers to help their students identify AI biases and risks. The lessons include discussions about facial recognition algorithms that may be more accurate at identifying white faces than dark faces.
In several states, teachers are using an AI literacy curriculum developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). One lesson asks students to consider the ethics of AI systems that can be used to produce fake media content, such as realistic videos in which politicians utter phrases they never actually said.
Educators and researchers say that understanding algorithms like this is a skill students will need to navigate daily life and participate in society.
In Shuman’s class, students read news articles about how ChatGPT could be useful and also prone to errors. They read posts on social media about how the chatbot could be directed to generate texts that promote hate and violence.
But the students couldn’t test the ChatGPT in class. The school district has blocked it. So they asked Shuman to use the chatbot to create a lesson as an experiment.
Shuman spent hours at home directing the system to generate a lesson on wearable technology. ChatGPT produced an incredibly detailed 30-minute lesson plan, complete with conversations, readings, and in-class exercises.
The class found the lesson boring compared to those of Shuman, a charismatic teacher who creates course materials for specific students, asks provocative questions, and presents relevant examples.
“The only effective part of this lesson is that it is direct,” said Alexania Echevarria, 17.
“ChatGPT seems to love wearable technology,” said Alia Goddess Burke, 17. “It’s biased!”
“Should your teachers use ChatGPT?” Shuman asked.
The students’ response was a resounding “No!”. At least for now.
By: NATASHA SINGER
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6665513, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-04-17 21:30:07
#schools #teach #critical #thinking #tackle #chatbots