Artificial Intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT are creator-driven machine-based systems that replicate human intelligence and learning. Although some view ChatGPT as a negative tool, it can also perform a variety of tasks more efficiently than a human would, making it beneficial for learning and advancement. As long as ChatGPT is used ethically and without harmful bias, it can be a useful tool, including in the classroom.
There have been many concerns as to the benefits of AI in education. Some districts have even gone as far as to ban the use of it completely. New York City Public Schools restricted access to ChatGPT on all of their networks as devices in January 2023. At the time, education department spokesperson Jenna Lyle said, “while the tool may be able to provide quick and easy answers to questions, it does not build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success.” In May 2023, however, they reversed their decision. David Banks, the then chancellor of NYC public schools, said that the “knee-jerk fear” of the program overlooked the potential benefits to AI. He said that students will be a part of “a world where understanding generative AI is crucial,” and banning it entirely would be doing them a disservice.
Understanding the boundaries of academic dishonesty while using Chat GPT is the first step in combating that fear. In an Op-Ed by New York Times columnist Kevin Roose called “Don’t Ban ChatGPT in Schools. Teach With It,” he argues that “OpenAI’s new chatbot is raising fears of cheating on homework, but its potential as an educational tool outweighs its risks.” ChatGPT can be used in the classroom in many ways. It can help students come up with ideas for research topics, it can assist in pointing students in the right direction to resources for research, and it can help with more simple daily tasks like writing an email to a teacher. However, these programs, like humans, are not perfect. AI struggles to distinguish a reliable source from a not reliable one, so while it can point students in the right direction towards resources, it is up to the student and their teachers to determine if that source is providing reliable or useful information.
Because ChatGPT is not going away anytime soon, teaching students, and educators, how to use it appropriately is one way of encouraging the ethical use of AI. MBS has offered multiple training sessions for faculty on the ethical use of AI. During an in-service day on February 14, Mr. Darren Lovelock and Mr. Michael McGrann led some MBS faculty across various disciplines in a conversation about the use of AI in the classroom. Faculty watched presentations from Dr. John Girvin, Performing Arts, Ms. Deanna Whelan, Design Arts, and Ms. Laura Kirschenbaum, mathematics, on how they use AI either in the classroom or behind the scenes. Mr. Lovelock said, “The question I keep asking myself all the time is if human and AI combined is better than either one alone.”
In an interview in January 2025, Sam Altman, the CEO of Open AI, the company who created ChatGPT, said, “You and I are living through this once in human history transition where humans go from being the smartest thing on planet earth to not the smartest thing on planet earth.” AI is not going away anytime soon. As it becomes more common in everyday life, learning how to use it responsibly will be an important part of adapting to new technology.
