Chat GPT and the educational system

Picture a world where humans don’t need to use their mental capacity for any kind of problem-solving methodology, nor do they need to generate ideas to make their lives better and more advanced. Instead, they have an external source that gives them the power to generate ideas and thoughts with just a command.
Had this happened earlier in the history of mankind, the human mind would not have had the chance to accomplish amazing feats. Making the human mind face situations that require rigorous thinking to find answers to intricate life problems modifies the human mind, making it imaginative and innovative. The world has evolved and developed due to the capacity of humans to think and grow.
Scientists who revolutionized the world used their brains to make remarkable breakthroughs. Thomas Edison’s experiments on producing a bulb were groundbreaking, and the thinking power of his brilliant mind illuminated the world with the gift of the light bulb. Moreover, while examining an apple falling from a tree, Sir Isaac Newton figured out the law of gravity. All the fantastic inventions the world has seen have been a result of the human brain working to its fullest potential.
Our capacity to learn and evolve is determined by how we train our minds to understand and accomplish a given task by thinking over and over about how to reach the desired outcome. With this effort of thought, our minds develop and can do incredible things. But when the brain isn’t supplied with enough to think about, it can’t gain the power to tackle complex issues, which impedes a person’s capacity for creativity and productivity. In fact, thinking leads to curiosity, which is the foundation of innovation and creativity.
Possessing the ability to think and create ideas not only gives humankind a skill for life but also makes them valuable assets to society. Undeniably, Chat GPT has the power to revolutionize the education sector. It could transform how we teach our children and decrease the cost of training our teachers. Additionally, Chat GPT can assist us in introducing modern technology to the academic field and help educators become more efficient when administering tests and exams. Moreover, it can help close the gender-based gap in education.
Deploying the software throughout the country to assist teachers in their work could shrink the educational gap that our decades-old education system forms due to its failure to provide equal learning opportunities to everyone. We can use Artificial Intelligence to help our students gain modern skills by introducing modern research methodologies and upgrading our labs so they can conduct experiments to maximize their learning.
However, to safeguard the cognitive capacity of our generation, the use of Chat GPT should be kept to a minimum. If students gain access to Chat GPT to complete their work, outsmart their quizzes, and gain an advantage over those who use their minds, this modern innovation will further damage the education system by creating people who depend solely on this technology to produce anything of minimal worth.
Picture someone being asked to produce a paper on a specific topic. By utilizing their thought process and mental approach to complete the assignment, the student’s mind will go through a process that boosts creativity and encourages out-of-the-box thinking. Nevertheless, if students turn to Chat GPT to finish the task, they might save time and energy, but it will stunt their intellectual capacity. When the capability to create is restricted, humans become more reliant on technologies like Chat GPT.
Chat GPT has allowed students to take advantage of ways to cheat on their assignments and exams. A study published by Forbes found that 51% of students view the utilization of AI tools like Chat GPT for assignments and exams as cheating. Realizing its negative impact, public schools in at least five Australian states have banned the use of Chat GPT on school premises. Additionally, Alabama, New York, and many other American schools have also blocked access to Chat GPT. Moreover, renowned international universities such as Cambridge University, Imperial College of London, and Sciences Po in Paris have also prohibited the use of Chat GPT. In Italy, the use of Chat GPT has been restricted for children under 13, making it the first Western country to do so.
The availability of Chat GPT for students in Pakistan might further deteriorate the effectiveness of our education system. Our educational system has not been successful in producing thinkers and creative individuals, and in many universities, colleges, and even schools, students are unable to generate ideas from their thinking and imagination. In our country, the educational system tends to create students who solely focus on memorizing facts and regurgitating them on tests.
The incorporation of Chat GPT will corrode the already damaged education system, making it easier for students to finish an assignment quickly, thus diminishing their mental ability to generate concepts and strengthen their thought processes. If our students become completely dependent on these tools, they won’t be able to think for themselves. Without access to these tools, our students will be like those living in primitive cultures, unable to think or create in a world that is constantly evolving.
For Pakistan to stay competitive, it needs people with advanced thinking and creativity. Exposing students in schools, colleges, and universities to these tools during a crucial period of mental development is comparable to making our youth become intellectual slaves in the modern era of mental competition. Utilizing Chat GPT has the potential to increase efficiency in our work, especially when we are crunched for time; however, we must be sure not to let the use of Chat GPT diminish the mental capacity of our youth. To this end, we must take advantage of Chat GPT to raise the standard of our education system and prevent students from the risks of overutilizing this tool.

The writer is a civil servant. He can be reached 
at waqar
hassancsp@gmail.com.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt