In an UNESCO article about artificial intelligence on education, the organization has committed to support all Member States to “harness the potential of AI technologies for achieving the Education 2030 Agenda”. 

The topic of AI has recently been brought to the public’s attention because of ChatGPT. In this application, people are able to have “human-like conversation” by answering questions and completing tasks. These functions could also be used in academic environments, posing challenges to maintain academic integrity of the student body. 

In an interview with AP English Literature teacher Joshua Melton, he voiced his concerns about the increased use of AI in language education.  

“ See…I think there are areas of academics that could genuinely benefit from the use of AI, ” Melton said. “ But if students are just using it to generate whole essays to cheat, then, obviously, that’s out of pocket.” 

Nevertheless, many other educational professionals across the nation have also recognized the potential issues regarding AI in education. 

In an article by the New York Post, a college professor from Furman University discovered his philosophy students plagiarizing essays by using AI generated answers. 

With all of these concerns arising, there is not much that teachers can do to prevent certain things from occurring. 

“Well, in AP English, for instance, students often have to write essays and do other work in class with pen and paper, which removes the possibility of cheating in this way.” Melton said. “ Other than that, though, I’m at a loss, being less than proficient in these new-fangled technologies.”

Edward Tian, a college student at Princeton has recently came up with a solution to combat cheating with a similar experimental tool as ChatGPT, known as GPTZero. This website was designed for educators to detect possible cheating via the variance and perplexity of the language. 

With inventions of similar websites, educators are more likely to detect cheating, however the advancement of technology will always prevail in the process of human development and utilizing applications to eliminate cheating is not truly effective in rooting away the root cause of certain academic dishonesties. 

Artificial intelligence is indeed an advanced tool of technology that can improve the learning quality of many and expand the access of education to more areas in the world. However, the over-reliance on Artificial Intelligence could also blur the line between reality and the internet world. 

“Ah yes, you’re referring to the singularity, wherein computers will match and then surpass what the human brain is capable of doing.  I think that is a far-off prospect, but I do foresee these seemingly simple AI-generated essays becoming more prevalent in the coming years. And stuff.”

In conclusion, as the debate about the ability for AI to surpass human intelligence continues, it is important to be reminded of our innate abilities to imagine and learn which set us apart in the world where the line between reality and imagination is blurred.