Generative AI is something that I had very little knowledge about. I have hear about AI in the news and the worries that surround the topic; however, I have never actually attempted to use Gen AI. Now that I have had the opportunity to experiment with AI myself, I have discovered a fascination for it and all it is able to accomplish. However, now that I have learnt what AI is and what it is capable of, I have come to understand that my assumptions of what Artificial Intelligence is as a whole was incorrect.
When I thought of AI, the first thing that always came to mind was a character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe known was J.A.R.V.I.S. J.A.R.V.I.S was an AI created to help Tony Stark run his company and to aid him in solving complex scientific and mathematical problems who was made to seem as if he was a sentient computer. Because of this portrayal of AI, I believed that Artificial Intelligence meant a fully sentient computer at your disposal to use.
Gif made from a Youtube video using Screencast
This is not the case. Gen AI pulls from data which already exists from the internet and therefore cannot be sentient. This is one of the major limitations of Generative AI. While there is a plethora of information available on the internet, a lot of the data and knowledge is from a Western White perspective.
Screenshot of ChatGPT conversation
When I asked ChatGPT to ‘tell me about the Vietnam war’, they provided a brief summary of the conflict and then provided some of the key points of the war. While all the information collected is correct, it is from the United States perspective. Yet, if you look back at my question, I did not ask for the American experience of the Vietnam war. This is an example of how Gen AI biased in the information gathering and in the responses. To help fix this, you would need to phrase the question with more detail to ensure that you are gaining the results through a less biased lens.
If you are planning on having your students use Generative AI in your classroom, it is important that the students understand how to properly phrase their questions and that they ensure that they are not taking the information they gained as facts. After they have learnt how to properly use AI to support their learning and work, Gen AI would be a useful tool to implement regularly in the classroom.
One of the ways that I feel would be the best use of AI in the classroom is to aid students in discovering ideas for assignments and their writing. When provided with a set of criteria and a general prompt, many student struggle to create tangible ideas for them to write about. If students are allowed to use AI in the classroom, they would be able to generate an idea quicker and therefore would be able to spend more time on the actual writing assignment. I would be very interested to see how teachers are utilizing AI in their classrooms and if they find it a useful tool or if it is something that hinders their students creative minds