Skills development under threat from tech

Monash University has found that increased awareness of the advantages of generative AI has also posed a threat to skill development across the globe. As generative AI applications such as ChatGPT become more convenient for learners and educators, academic integrity is being challenged, it said.

AI has the ability to produce content that is superficially plausible but entirely incorrect. This can lead users to have a deeply mistaken picture of the world.

ChatGPT, for example, is not trying to assert facts about the world. Instead, it is successfully performing a different task: Generating superficially convincing responses to a prompt.

Students can submit AI-generated schoolwork without writing a single word themselves, and without necessarily understanding the material they are supposed to be tested on. This reliance on AI tools can erode important skills such as critical thinking and comprehension.

On the other hand, generative AI will also become capable of tasks that many educators think of as central to their profession.

For example, the non-profit education organization Khan Academy recently announced that it will be launching a GPT-4 powered AI assistant, Khanmigo, which can play the role of a tutor for students and can also assist teachers with tasks such as creating lesson plans.

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