Chat, the Teacher

AI is reshaping how we learn. Are we ready?

On November 30, 2022, ChatGPT was released to the world, leaving an indelible mark on our society. For almost four years, every teacher from middle to graduate school has had to consider how their students could use the nascent technology. Some educators moved to ban it entirely in the name of academic integrity, but MA has embraced it, with many teachers allowing students to use AI to aid, but not replace, their learning. 

Many faculty provide their students with a specific tool to use, like the Science Department with Snorkl, a tool that gives users feedback on how well they can explain scientific concepts. The idea is that this bolsters understanding ahead of a test without doing any work for students, like a tutorial conversation with a teacher. Often, my teachers ask that I don’t use AI to replace my own work and thinking but otherwise allow students to figure out how to incorporate AI into their workflows without violating academic integrity. This raises questions: how can AI make me a more efficient student? If it can, is MA prepared for the technology?

I’ve experimented with running final drafts of my writing (like English essays and this article) through the large language model (LLM) Claude. I tell it the competencies I’m being graded on and ask it for feedback, which has proven valuable. To find out how other MA students use AI, I asked some of my peers about it.

James Tatum, a junior, said that he uses “AI to research and find articles for my MARC class, and to explain concepts I don’t understand.” Like Snorkl, having AI explain something can develop understanding even when a teacher or friend isn’t available to break an idea down, especially if it’s late at night or a tutorial is full the day before a test. 

Serena Payne, a senior and editor of The 1600, shared that she “used AI recently to summarize a jargony biology research source,” she said. Clearly, LLMs excel at making complex concepts digestible. Serena also noted that “most people use AI in school,” which she believes “gives them a leg up when they are graded.” Teachers would likely insist that a student using AI to replace their work would result in them learning less and receiving a 50% for plagiarizing, but if AI can help us learn more effectively without causing plagiarism, grades undoubtedly stand to benefit. 

Bobby Pignati, a sophomore, has a rare opinion. He shared that he has “never used AI, especially not for school.” While he believes that the technology is “hypothetically useful and could help a lot of people,” he “just doesn’t find it morally sound…I'd rather do my own work and learn for myself and express myself than let something express me for me.”

By not banning AI, MA clearly doesn’t view the technology as ethical anathema, pushing those who do to accept the responsibilities posed by education in a democratic society, in line with the MA mission statement and the first amendment.

But is MA really ready for this radical transformation of society brought on by ChatGPT? Sure, we have new ways to make learning more efficient, at the cost of new academic challenges and an abundance of ethical questions. As a school, MA continues to push forward and embrace AI while giving space for community members to choose not to. Being open to that dialogue means that the MA community can work together to prepare for the change.