A Simple Parents' Guide to ChatGPT
ChatGPT is everywhere right now. You've likely seen news reports, Twitter headlines, and think pieces galore about this new technology. Given the tone of much of the coverage, you've probably developed a bit of fear about it. As a parent, you might wonder what it means for your kid academically and personally.
A quick overview
First, I think we should get clear on some basics. ChatGPT is a specific product/tool from a company called OpenAI (Side note, this company does lots of neat stuff and is worth following if you're intrigued by AI). ChatGPT falls under the AI umbrella and, at the most foundational level, is a chatbot that handles interaction with humans. Most of us have used chatbots before — commonly on e-commerce sites or for services we use to get customer support. Chatbots are now very common. A chatbot helps customers solve routine and predictable problems. This automation reserves resources and allows more demanding challenges for human support personnel. In a business setting, a well-implemented bot has significant efficiency gains for support. This is important to remember when you hear people freak out about "talking to" AI. We all already do it; some bots are elementary, while others are advanced.
What makes ChatGPT different
What makes ChatGPT different is how conversational and seemingly thoughtful it is. It has wide-ranging capabilities, and it's quickly trainable. It refines answers as you ask more questions — and the more people use it, the better the conversations get for everyone. In essence, we're all training the bot. Many bots are like this, so why is everyone so paranoid about this particular technology? Again, it's likely because this bot has an impressive clarity of language, is easy to use, and seems to work across an outstandingly wide range of use cases (paid members will see a fun guide in our members only section). A lot of AI technology is fantastic for techies but impossible for the average person to figure out how to use. ChatGPT is something that 99% of people can pull up in a browser and use right away. ChatGPT baked in usability and accessibility for average users from the start.
ChatGPT gets its knowledge and answers primarily from information already available to us. Its feeder knowledge is books, articles, and, frankly, the internet. ChatGPT muddles through a vast trove of data to converse with the user. As we all know, not all information is created equal. This is why some conversations with ChatGPT require considerable refinement to arrive at an acceptable final product. It is also why ChatGPT will get "better" at conversations as more people use it for various purposes.
AI tools like ChatGPT are unlikely to break education, but they will require educators to consider how platforms can and should be used in different settings. The primary concern that I've heard from parents is about plagiarism. They are worried that ChatGPT will allow students to cheat or shortcut assignments. Students will always find ways to cheat; some get caught, and some don't. ChatGPT won't change that. ChatGPT is yet to be capable of writing single or multi-page essays that any reasonable student would submit. You've got time before you worry about this one. Consider listening to the podcast I recommend at the end of this article for an educator's perspective.
AI can be fun. In all of the fear-based conversations about ChatGPT, many have lost sight of a simple face: AI can be fun. It can make life easier and automate things you'd typically have to focus your time and effort on to complete. I'm excited to share some examples with you later this week.
Want to learn more about ChatGPT? Here are three resources to learn as much (or as little) as you want:
Five free minutes: watch this simple explainer video on YouTube
Fifteen free minutes: read this Atlantic article from December 2022, "ChatGPT Is Dumber Than You Think." I can't fully agree with everything the author says, but it's a good look at why moral panic isn't entirely warranted. Some newer articles that have gone viral also make me question how “dumb” it is.
Thirty free minutes: listen to the first half of this episode of The New York Times's Hard Fork podcast. The interview with a high school English teacher will decrease your stress around student plagiarism and ChatGPT by about 80%.