Chat GPT or a Friendly Paw Reporter?

ChatGPT has evolved a lot since it was first released. Even last year, it was a fairly simple task to detect whether a d’var was written by a bot. Since then, though, many features have been released, such as making your own GPT and long-term memory. As ChatGPT is trained on more and more texts it becomes smarter and more lifelike. So the question remains: can you, a human (we hope), tell the difference between ChatGPT and an article written by me, a reporter at The Paw? The prompt was to write an article about the pros and cons of ChatGPT and make it sound like a human high schooler. Read the two about the upsides and downsides of ChatGPT, and make your best guess!

ChatGPT: Friend or Foe?

In recent years, artificial intelligence has taken a major leap forward, and ChatGPT is one of the most popular AI tools out there. But is it really a good thing for students and schools? Let’s break it down.

On the plus side, ChatGPT can be an amazing resource for homework help. Whether you’re stuck on a math problem or trying to understand a complex concept, it’s like having a tutor available 24/7. It’s also super useful for brainstorming ideas. Writers’ block? Just ask ChatGPT, and you’ll have plenty of ideas to work with.

Another big pro is that it saves time. Need a summary of a long article or book? ChatGPT can quickly break it down for you. This kind of efficiency is something that students (and teachers) can appreciate, especially when deadlines are tight.

But ChatGPT isn’t without its downsides. First, it’s not always accurate. The AI doesn’t always get facts right or fully understand what you’re asking. Relying on it too much can lead to misinformation or even plagiarism, especially if students copy its responses without thinking.

Another concern is that using ChatGPT might make students more dependent on technology and less likely to think critically. Why try to solve a problem when AI can do it for you? This could hurt the development of important skills, like problem-solving and creative thinking.

In the end, ChatGPT can be a great tool for students, but only if it’s used wisely. Schools like ours need to find a balance between embracing new technology and ensuring it’s used responsibly.

Should Students Use ChatGPT?

Ever since the release of ChatGPT in November of 2022, there has been an influx of users, to a total of an astounding 100 million users daily. Many of these users are students who need a quick idea to kickstart their essays. Many more, though, use the generative AI tool to create an essay for them. This brings about the question: should schools allow the use of ChatGPT?

An upside is the sheer amount of knowledge that ChatGPT has. It uses information from every corner of the Internet to bring you factual information. One creative use for ChatGPT is as a tutor. Especially with its new image detection and image generation, ChatGPT can help walk you through a complex math problem. It can also generate questions to test your knowledge, which is useful when studying for an exam. 

It is also very imaginative, and can easily generate ten ideas for exploration in any topic you could possibly ask for. This can lead to a more efficient time brainstorming for a group project or presentation.

There are a few cons though. ChatGPT uses all information on the Internet, which can often lead to misleading or inaccurate results. It also has a strict cutoff date of October 2023, which means it can’t be as useful on recent topics.

Another downside is that it can be used for so many things. Some students take advantage of the machine’s capabilities to generate their writing assignments for them. Even small excerpts from the model can often be considered plagiarism, which can lead to students getting into trouble.

It has also been proposed that Open AI’s creation can limit students’ creativity. Critics argue that outsourcing imagination is harmful to children, who will grow up and rely on the large-language model to generate ideas for them.

Overall, there are many arguments for and against the use of ChatGPT. It is up to schools to decide whether the benefits outweigh the downsides, and it is up to students to use what can be an easy way to cheat as a tool, rather, to enhance their education.

A bit tougher than you thought, right? I tested the leading AI detection services, and a few weren’t as foolhardy as you might’ve thought: QuillBot, for example, classified ~60% of the completely human-written articles as AI-generated.

And without further ado, let’s get to the results. Drum roll, please… The first article was written by none other than ChatGPT 4o! I wrote the second. Did you get it right? If you did, what tipped you off?