The New York public school, the largest education system in the United States with more than a million students, has lost its fear of artificial intelligence (AI).
It is clear that you cannot fight against windmills with a spear and shield in times of remote-controlled drones, that the romanticism of the 19th century does not match the technological display of the 21st century, that this is more about knowing yourself than armoring yourself for fear of what will be .
The AI is here to stay and evolve, to be increasingly smart, and not wanting to see it like this, analysts emphasize, is as impossible as "taking the shine off the stars" that Los Lobos sing.
This conclusion was reached by those responsible for the Department of Education of the Big Apple, which announced the rescission of the veto decreed in January against the popular chatbot or ChatGPT software on school devices and networks. This tool, which has caused a revolution in a few months, caught the leaders of the school system at a different pace, who glimpsed a catastrophe due to an alleged spread of misinformation and the obvious ease for students to cheat on educational tasks.
According to the new ideology, this chatbot, created by the OpenAI company, will continue to be restricted on the website and school networks until each of the school principals request that the ban be lifted. So far there are already 36 who have requested it from the department.
"While the initial caution was justified, it has now turned into a careful exploration and examination of the power and risks of this new technology," said David Banks, Chancellor of Education in the metropolis.
Banks noted that the ban on ChatGPT was set "because of its potential misuse and the concern raised by educators in our schools."
But he added that "instinctive fear and danger overlooked the generative potential of AI to help students and teachers."
In addition, he recognized that they ignored the fact that schoolchildren participate and will work in a world "where the understanding of artificial intelligence is crucial." The chancellor explained in an article that these months they have held discussions with the leaders of the technology industry about their platforms and the future of their educational possibilities. “We also consulted with our most trusted experts, many of whom have already started teaching about the future and ethics of AI,” he added.
Mark D. Levine, Manhattan Borough President, congratulated himself on the rectification, a change he described as absolutely correct. “We need to prepare our youth for the future,” he tweeted.
ChatGPT is considered a better search engine than Google for its consistent conversation style and current response style.
The praise it received, after its hatching at the end of 2022, was accompanied by concerns about its possible misuse in the academic field.
There have already been cases of accusations against students for using the chatbot in their jobs. And, in turn, it has served to detect plagiarism in those tasks "fed" by existing writing tools before ChatGPT. Copying is as old as schools.
