Finishing | Zheng Liyuan
出品 | CSDN（ID：CSDNnews）
Recently, a United States university professor Megan Fritts posted a post on the social platform X, which attracted widespread attention and heated debate:
"In the second week of school, I found out that students were already using (and admitting to using) ChatGPT to write their first assignment: 'Briefly introduce yourself and say what you hope to get out of this class'. Not only that, but they also use ChatGPT to generate questions they ask in class. ”
In Fritts' opinion, this is an assignment that can easily get a high grade, but she was surprised that some students chose to use ChatGPT to generate self-introductions: "They all admit to using ChatGPT, and frankly I was surprised by their honesty. But at the same time, they were shocked that they felt that even such a simple assignment needed to be done with an LLM. ”
ChatGPT is not equivalent to the role of a calculator in mathematics
Professor Fritts posted about it on X, and the post was quickly retweeted and commented on in large numbers. Many of them believe that it is an inevitable trend for students to use AI to deal with low-difficulty assignments as well.
In fact, there has always been a polarized attitude towards the use of AI in education. Some people believe that ChatGPT, like a calculator in mathematics, is an effective tool that can reduce the burden on students and allow them to focus more on understanding complex concepts and thinking creatively – but Professor Fritts believes that this analogy is wrong.
She pointed out that the calculator only reduces the amount of time students spend on mechanical operations, and the ultimate goal is to help them find a clear answer; The goal of humanities education is not to produce students who can answer questions mechanically, but to "shape people". Through subjects such as philosophy and literature, students should acquire the ability to think critically about problems that they would not actively think about in their daily lives. But once AI is used to do this, it is exactly the opposite of the original purpose of education.
"The goal of education is to create free minds – free people. And leaving the thought process to a machine obviously doesn't make that possible," says Professor Fritts. She explained that the self-introductions generated by students using ChatGPT are often just repetitive, templated responses that don't reflect their true thoughts, which makes her quickly aware that the assignments are AI-generated.
Teachers are also struggling with the increasing number of students using AI to complete assignments. Fritts points out that educators do have a responsibility to teach students how to properly use AI tools, but it's unrealistic to put the blame for curbing cheating entirely on teachers.
"It's too much for you to complain directly about technological development"
In addition to concerns about academic cheating, Professor Fritts touched on a deeper issue: the impact of technology on students' thinking skills. She said that many students have told her that their attention and reading skills have deteriorated, and they know that this change is inextricably linked to their long-term use of technology.
● "When I was a kid, I loved to read, but now I can't, I can't even read a chapter in a book."
● "I have a particularly poor concentration, and I know it's because I'm looking at my phone all the time and always having YouTube or TikTok on."
Fritts mentioned that a growing body of research shows that modern technology, especially the fast way to access information online, is changing people's reading habits. Instead of deep reading, many people quickly skim through the information and skip unnecessary details. She believes that the formation of such habits may have a profound impact on human cognition and thinking ability.
In addition to this, Professor Fritts emphasizes: "Don't fool yourself into thinking that students use AI because they're excited about a new technology, but they just don't know how to use it properly in the classroom – in fact, everyone wants to be lazy and lighthearted, even if they know it's wrong." ”
Judging by the comments under the X post, many people support Professor Fritts' opinion:
● "I think when AI gets too smart, it destroys us; But I think it's okay for people to dull themselves by using it for everything. ”
● "Kids need to understand that your future boss already has a paid and more advanced ChatGPT, and if you're only going to copy its output, you're not worth being hired."
But at the same time, there are many who think that Professor Fritts's statement is too radical:
● "Historically, there have been a lot of people who have been alarmist about new technologies and have been stupid because of them."
● "I think it's okay to complain about the younger generation of children playing with mobile phones, but it's too much for you to complain directly about the development of technology."
Reference Links:
https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1fph72o/a_teacher_caught_students_using_chatgpt_on_their/
https://www.businessinsider.com/students-caught-using-chatgpt-ai-assignment-teachers-debate-2024-9