The hot topic in coffee rooms and teacher meetings is ChatGPT and other text generator AIs. Most of the teachers have at least tried out the services and been awestruck by the high quality of essay answers. The fact that creativity can easily be replaced by artificial intelligence has taken most of us by surprise.

Pros and cons of a text generator AI

The topic has raised worries with many teachers as they feel that the inevitable end result will be cheating in online exams or assignments. However, most of the text generator AIs do not provide references. As academic writing is based on referencing and stating sources, this will at least buy some time until the text generator AIs adapt into the requirements of academic writing.

Another measure that could prevent the use of AI in essay answers is AI-detection software that recognizes the text generator AI patterns. Verbal hearings can also be introduced to verify students learning when assessing assignments. Ultimately, if every other measure fails, maybe teachers will have to resort to good old pen and paper answers.

But what if we turn the tables around and stop thinking of text generator AI as a problem. As a matter of fact, text generator AI is an excellent tool for learning – just type in a question and get a pretty reliable answer as result. Furthermore, AI summarizes a long pdf-document in a few seconds and even answers further questions. Provided that you put some thought into the process and read the answers properly, you can actually learn a lot from just about any topic out there. Once you get the initial results, AI has the ability to dig deeper into the topic by providing tools to compare and expand the original setup.

In my field of teaching, marketing and sales, text generator AI can actually be a really useful tool. You can create tons of A/B-testable content in an instant and shoot it out your marketing channels. And it does not have to be a direct copy-paste exercise. AI can give you great ideas and improve your own text by providing viable alternatives. One could definitely make an argument that you learn a lot by using the text generator AI properly.

What does ChatGPT think of using text generator AI in essay assignments?

I cannot end this text without actually using text generator AI to help me out here. I asked ChatGPT two questions: What are the problems of text generator AIs in essay assignments and What are the benefits of text generator AI in essay assignments? The answers I received were more extensive, but I will share the main points with you.

Problems of text generator AIs in essay assignments

“While text generator AI has made significant advances in recent years, it still faces several challenges when it comes to essay assignments. Some of the problems of text generator AI in essay assignments include:

• Lack of understanding underlying concepts or nuances of the subject matter. This can lead to inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the generated text.
• Limited creativity as ext generator AI models rely too heavily on existing information and fail to generate new insights or perspectives that would make the essay more interesting or engaging.
• Inability to adapt to different writing styles such as persuasive, descriptive, or analytical.
• Limited ability to incorporate research to support the arguments and ideas presented.
• Ethical concerns as essays without proper citing or acknowledging of a source can lead to plagiarism and academic misconduct.”

Benefits of text generator AI in essay assignments

“There are several benefits of using text generator AI in essay assignments, including:

• Time-saving as the AI can generate a high-quality essay in just a few minutes.
• Improved writing skills as students can analyze the structure, language, and tone used in the generated essays and apply these techniques to their own writing.
• Consistency in terms of style, tone, and language, which is important when writing a large number of essays on the same topic.
• Reduced plagiarism as students can build on the ideas presented and create their own original work.
• Access to more resources as AI can scan through a large number of sources and compile information into a comprehensive essay.

However, it is important to note that text generator AI should be used as a tool to aid in the writing process and not as a substitute for critical thinking and analysis. It is crucial that students use their own judgment and knowledge to evaluate and modify the AI-generated content to suit the specific requirements of their essay assignments.”

I could not say it better myself. Text generator AI is a tool not a substitute. Own judgement and active evaluation and participation is needed from the students to actually learn. It is the job of the teachers to make sure that even with the assistance of text generator AI the students will continue to learn.