Whether you’re for or against artificial intelligence in the classroom, its arrival is seemingly inevitable. In fact, some might say it’s already here. Whether you choose to allow your students to use ChatGPT to learn, edtech companies are already embracing it.
On Monday, the educational support service provider Chegg announced CheggMate, a new GPT-4-powered study aide for students to be released for early access in May.
“It’s a tutor in your pocket,” CEO Dan Rosensweig told Reuters.
The software will combine GPT-4’s advanced AI systems with Chegg’s content library to adapt to exactly what students are learning. Users can also input a query in any format, whether it’s by written text, a photo, a diagram or a math problem. Students can then ask further questions and receive help on concepts they don’t understand in real-time.
“AI provides an incredible opportunity for students to be aided by a digital companion that supports and enhances their learning and helps to prepare them for the future,” said Nina Huntemann, chief academic officer of Chegg in a statement. “Chegg understands learners like no one else. We are building generative AI into our powerful and proprietary learning tools to support students’ active engagement in their learning process.”
Other edtech giants have recently joined the generative AI hype train. Brainly, a leading global learning platform, announced earlier this month beta access to its new GPT-4-powered AI functions: “Simplify” and “Expand” answers. According to the company’s announcement, these additions will help enhance student learning in a more dynamic and personalized way.
“The ‘Simplify’ function uses AI to modify answers to be shorter, straightforward and focused on the main facts. The ‘Expand’ function lets Learners access more in-depth AI-generated explanations for an existing answer,” a news release reads.
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Last month, Khan Academy released a small AI pilot for Khanmigo, another tutoring aide powered by GPT-4. Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, recently published a blog post describing his experience with GPT-4. Simply put, he thinks it has massive potential to close the digital divide among students.
Students using Khanmigo can ask the AI tool the same questions they would ask of a real in-person tutor and it will generate patient, human-like responses. For teachers, it’s a timesaver that will allow them to focus more on their students. But there’s still room for growth.
“AI makes mistakes,” Khan wrote. “Even the newest generation of AI can still make errors in math. AI can still ‘hallucinate,’ which is the term the industry uses for making stuff up. A lot of work needs to be done.”
Others, however, are trying to ensure that AI is used with integrity. In February, the well-known plagiarism catcher Turnitin announced its “state-of-the-art” AI writing detector, which went live this month. According to their announcement, it’s capable of identifying 98% of text written by ChatGPT with a less than 1% false positive rate.
However, the work is far from over.
“The technology is constantly evolving and just a few weeks ago, OpenAI announced the release of GPT-4 with broader access to the web and third-party sites,” according to a blog post by Turnitin. “We will continue to adapt and respond to the next iterations and innovations in AI writing, putting the safety of students and the needs of educators and institutions first.”
