Amid growing calls for schools to teach pupils about artificial intelligence (AI), BBC Young Reporters Theo and Ben have been looking at its risks and potential – and asked their classmates how they have used it to try to sharpen up their homework.
Detention given, “Next period was a geography assignment where I wrote the entire speech using Chat GPT. During speaking out with no idea about what I was talking”
“I did not understand this question, so I typed in Chat GPT, and it made matters simple.”
Doing homework is just as hard as being in a class room without a teacher. This is like when you are away from home but a teacher.
A brief overview of some creative approaches our friends took to revamp their class work with an AI – computer-like intelligence.
Using a completely anonymous questionnaire, we asked our school form groups. Thirty-one of thirty-three students had used AI for school work, while twenty-seven supported teaching AI at school.
Most people we interviewed among our friends and colleagues had applied Chat GPT, an artificial intelligent system that generates answers with a human touch. It contributed in enhancing the process of idea generation and research, structuring, or phrasing and spelling.
However, some admitted that they used it to cheat.
It was not as planned all the time. Another said that Chat GPT provided them with the wrong dates in a history essay while another noted that it got “90% of the answers wrong” in a physics assignment.
“I wrote the speech whole for my geography assignment that was to come up next period using Chat GPT. I also read off what I did not understand and got myself into trouble by receiving a detention.”
“I didnt know the meaning of the question… so I plugged it into chat GPT and it simplified it for me”.
Teacher is not present if you are doing homework. It’s just like having a teacher if you are home.”
This is just an example by a few of our friends who have enhanced their schoolwork with the aid of AI – technology which gives the computer the ability to behave as if it is human.
Our form groups filled in a confidential questionnaire for us. In total, 31 out of 33 had employed AI on the school assignment, with 27 being convinced that this should be taught at school.
Our friends and classmates who were interviewed mentioned Chat GPT as a common application they had used, which is able to provide responses in spoken human language. He said that is how they conceived most of their facts, conducted researches, and structured their sentences.
However some of them admitted that they used it for cheating.
The story did not always go according to plan. Someone commented that Chat GPT provided an incorrect date for a history-related project, while another noted “the model gave 90 per cent of the answers wrong” when solving a problem in physics.
Despite concerns about its complete reliability, most people weren’t deterred from using it.
According to one individual, “You can receive a well-organized response from tools like ChatGPT and supplement it with additional in-depth research.”
The accessibility of AI around the clock sparked a discussion about its superiority over a teacher. “A teacher may comprehend you better and establish a personal connection, unlike AI, which remains impersonal and doesn’t really know anyone,” another person argued.
Teachers themselves are exploring the potential of this rapidly developing technology, too. Jonathan Wharmby, who teaches computer science at Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School in Liverpool, uses AI to help with planning and creating resources, such as multiple choice questions – but said there were issues.
“Sometimes ChatGPT and the like will go off on tangents or will give incorrect answers, so it still needs me to look over them to check that they are correct,” he said.
He said using ChatGPT in an exam scenario would be cheating, just as would using a search engine.
“But to help you with your schoolwork, I don’t see an issue – as long as you’ve got that critical eye and you double check what it’s coming back with,” he added.
The government in England launched a consultation this year on AI in education, including on how it can be misused, and will publish its results later in the year.
We were attempting to find out whether we could tell the difference between genuinely created work, completely generated AI work, and work that Mr. Wharmby proposed was made using AI as a tool.
Thus, we settled for a challenge where each one of us replied to the same essay question severally.Firstly, as individuals, we wrote out unique answers to this question. However, we did so differently for the second response with one of us using chat GTp and the other using it to write the entire answer and come up with ideas that could help us organize the essay.
I remember being very sure of myself when we switched to compare to see if we could locate where the other one had marked using it, and the methodology applied.
But it turns out we should not have been – neither of us guessed entirely correctly.One thing that threw us was how convincingly AI wrote about human emotions, like in this extract of the essay written entirely by ChatGPT: this entire challenge made us realize not only how cunning AI could but also how simple it would be to cheat.
This week sees the inaugural global AI safety summit being held at Bletchley Park. He added that the government is bringing together industry leaders and advanced AI users.
According to Mr. Sunak, the world does not currently share a clear view of the associated risks, however, the UK would never rush into regulation.
“As innovations are a signpost of the British economy we shall always have a presumption to support and never to suppress.”
The objective of this exercise was to determine if one could differentiate unadulterated work done by humans, fully automated work crafted by artificial intelligence, and mixed work created with the help of an artificially intelligent system.
Thus, we gave ourselves a task – each of us should write down the same essay twice once, with no collaboration among us and without reading what anyone else wrote. However, for the second one, we used Chat GPT differently; One of us asked it to write the entire answer, while the other asked it to give ideas and help plan the essay.
We then crossed our eyes to see if we could point at where the other one has used it and how they have used it. For sure, at this point I thought I knew precisely what it was that she had done with mine.
But it turns out we should not have been – neither of us guessed entirely correctly.One thing that threw us was how convincingly AI wrote about human emotions, like in this extract of the essay written entirely by ChatGPT: this whole challenge showed us that AI is deceivingly crafty and that it will take no time getting one cheated up.
This week, at the Global AI Safety Summit, held for the first time at Bletchley Park, representatives of “companies pioneering AI and the countries who are in advance with AI use” will consider the risks of AI.
According to Mr. Sunak, there was no global consensus or shared understanding around the risk but that he would not rush to regulation in the UK.
He said “we believe in innovation – it’s a quintessence of the UK economic model therefore we will always have an assumption to promote it and not to suppress it.”
The BCS, a chartered institute for IT dedicated to fostering IT skills and knowledge in education, is a strong advocate for integrating AI education. They propose introducing AI education for all students from the age of 11. Julia Adamson, the managing director for education at BCS, emphasizes the importance of students studying at least one technology subject at the GCSE level.
According to Adamson, in our digital era, guiding young people through the intricacies of the digital world is akin to holding their hand while crossing a busy street. It involves teaching them the “rules of the road” and making them aware of potential risks.
Addressing concerns about the potential for cheating in schoolwork, Adamson acknowledges the risk but believes that young people can be trusted to create their own work. She suggests that AI should be used as a tool for tasks like structuring and generating ideas, rather than a shortcut to avoid genuine effort.
Adamson cautions against becoming overly reliant on technology, as it may lead to a decline in creativity and critical thinking. She emphasizes the need to encourage, rather than hinder, these essential skills.
Contrary to the widespread use of AI reported by most friends, a recent survey by polling company Survation for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Bitesize indicates a different trend. Only 29% of respondents in the survey claimed to have utilized AI technology for completing homework or coursework, suggesting that AI adoption in education may vary across different regions or demographics.
According to the department for education, the new computer science GCSE is “created to ensure that students are well prepared with the skills required for the tech jobs that lie ahead especially those involving A. I”.
Statistics reveal that girls contribute less than a fifth of the total computational GCSE enrollments.
Ahana is a year 13 student alone in her sixth form taking computer science as a subject. She campaigns for getting more girls into the field.
“At the beginning, I felt very overwhelmed — almost like I didn’t belong there! I was even scared to express my ideas,” — she said in a Skype interview.
But, it turned out that this was not true and I also had the same right to be present as everybody else.”
This experience helped me understand how big a problem it really is.” last week, exam board Pearson Edexcel launched an AI qualification for students in addition to A-levels.
Thus, this implies that our generation shall be employing artificial intelligence, and therefore young people should be educated about its use.
All we need is to ensure that the teaching mentions its own limits, and that we do not use AI as a source of ideation for us.
Thinking about the ideas without executing them still constitutes a huge part that is vital in the world.
The Department for Education said that the computer science GCSE is designed to provide students with knowledge necessary for the future technology jobs including jobs related to AI.
About one fifth of computing GCSE entries are girls based on government data.
Ahana is a year-13 student and happens to be the only girl among her sixth form peers who is studying computer science – and calling for a change to draw more girls into this discipline.
“I was so nervous in the first few days, it almost made me feel like a stranger”. Then later she admitted in an online interview that “I’m very shy to put ideas forward and share my opinions.”
With the passing of time; however, I discovered that it was not true and I was just like everybody else in this regard.
It is through this that I realized how big a problem it was.
In conclusion, despite our hard work, we concur that our generation will use AI in the future; therefore, young people should be taught about it.
All we need is how the teachings include such limits and not rely too much on AI in producing more concepts automatically.
Ideation matters just as much as execution; otherwise you would be missing out on life’s biggest aspects.
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