More Thoughts on ChatGPT and AI in Education

From Tyler Cowen:

No, it is not converging upon human-like intelligence or for that matter AGI.  Still, the broader lesson is you can build a very practical kind of intelligence with fairly simple statistical models and lots of training data.  And there is more to come from this direction very soon.

Tyler Cowen

Also, my friend Micah Shippee, Ph.D., posted a conversation he had with ChatGPT (yes, I’m just calling it what it is, a conversation) on LinkedIn with interesting questions:

The question remains is this original thought? The probing questions are mine, the responses are from the AI… Did I create something new by asking unique questions?

– Micah Shippee, Ph. D.

There will be more discussions about AI and tools like ChatGPT and how they affect education.

The most important thing we can do as educators is not to ignore these tools. They’re not going away. Students will find ways to use them. Educators should find ways to use them. But if we choose to ignore them and move on as if they will not affect what we do in schools worldwide, we’re failing our students.

Don’t get caught in the aftermath of significant change. We do too much of that in education already.

Recommended Books on AI

Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook, and the World
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Metz, Cade (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 382 Pages – 03/16/2021 (Publication Date) – Dutton (Publisher)
Sale
Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control
  • Russell, Stuart (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 352 Pages – 11/17/2020 (Publication Date) – Penguin Books (Publisher)
Sale
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
  • Tegmark, Max (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 384 Pages – 07/31/2018 (Publication Date) – Vintage (Publisher)
Sale
MACHINES LOVING GRACE
  • Markoff, John (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 400 Pages – 07/21/2016 (Publication Date) – EccoPress (Publisher)
The Political Philosophy of AI: An Introduction
  • Coeckelbergh, Mark (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 186 Pages – 04/11/2022 (Publication Date) – Polity Pr (Publisher)

Wednesday Assorted Links

It’s December 7, a day that lives in infamy.

  1. AI is going to break a lot of norms and institutions (trust me, education isn’t immune)
  2. Before the flood: Ruminations on the future of AI
  3. ChatGPT on Spielberg’s A.I. and AI Alignment
  4. What is ChatGPT, the viral social media AI?
  5. I Taught ChatGPT to Invent a Language

BTW, I asked ChatGPT to “explain what ChatGPT is to a fifth-grader,” and here is the response:

ChatGPT is a type of computer program that is designed to help people have conversations. It uses advanced algorithms and a lot of information from previous conversations to understand what you are saying and respond in a way that makes sense. It’s kind of like having a really smart friend who always knows what to say!

– ChatGPT

Suggested reads on AI:

Sale
The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology
  • Kurzweil, Ray (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 672 Pages – 09/26/2006 (Publication Date) – Penguin Books (Publisher)
Sale
Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
  • Bostrom, Nick (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 432 Pages – 05/01/2016 (Publication Date) – Oxford University Press (Publisher)
Sale
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
  • Tegmark, Max (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 384 Pages – 07/31/2018 (Publication Date) – Vintage (Publisher)
Sale
Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era
  • Barrat, James (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 352 Pages – 02/17/2015 (Publication Date) – St. Martin’s Griffin (Publisher)

You may have great fear about AI and the possibilities and problems it presents. Remember Wizard’s Seventh Rule: Life is the future, not the past.