80% of Fortune 500 companies use ChatGPT. Why can't students do it? ChatGPT, created by OpenAI, was introduced less than two years ago and completely changed the narrative around artificial intelligence. Originally released to the public as a research preview, ChatGPT is now a fully developed product and integrated into the workflows of some of the world's largest companies. Since ChatGPT's inception, several companies have competed for dominance in the space, including Google's Gemini and Meta's Llama 2. As these models become more integral to the working day, ChatGPT and other AI tools should be carefully integrated into the curriculum and allowed in schools.
Incorporating AI technology into high school curricula can better prepare students to enter an AI-enabled workforce. Rather than issuing a blanket ban on this technology, teachers can guide students on how to use it appropriately. Teacher instructions can inform students about ethical usage standards and how best to use them to their advantage to strengthen and advance their study habits. As AI becomes more prevalent in the workplace, students without AI training will be missing out on many opportunities. AI technology is improving and expanding and becoming extremely complex. To catch up, students need to be taught about them early in their education. In the future, these technologies will become even more widespread.
Generative AI is based on human datasets. If you conceptualize the entire Internet in its current state, you will find not only many positives, but also many negatives. Although there are many biases, it is important to understand that AI is not better than the data it is trained on. Any bias and inaccuracy built into the training data will be reversed tenfold. It is essential that students receive her training in AI ethics so that they can properly collect diverse datasets and address current inequities regarding technology. Students need to be able to distinguish between correct and incorrect use cases for AI. This way, students can automate boring tasks while maintaining critical thinking and other essential skills.
The educational use of AI has benefits beyond preparing students for the workforce. It can be used to improve equity in education. High-income students have increased access to professional tutors, education experts, and learning platforms. Additionally, wealthy parents can send their children to expensive private schools designed to facilitate admission to Ivy League universities. ChatGPT and related technologies have the potential to democratize the education system. Low-income students can use her AI technology as a personal tutor to explain difficult concepts and level the playing field in education.
It is not uncommon to come across headlines describing how AI will end education as we know it. But like other educational technologies predicted to end education at the time, these technologies were nothing but a boon for students. In the 1970s, calculators gradually entered homes and were increasingly used for homework. Eventually, education interest groups such as the National Advisory Council on Mathematics Education and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics began to support the finding that using calculators in the classroom increases test scores. Calculators are now widely accepted in secondary and post-secondary education. Almost all Advanced Placement classes offered by the College Board allow the use of calculators on exams. The use of calculators in the classroom serves as a model for the productive use of a once feared technology. AI should be loosely regulated by administrators but accessible to students.
As high school students ourselves, we are in a unique position to comment on the various ways that AI can be used productively in secondary education settings. Both of our school districts have strict no-AI policies in place. Students are suffering from a lack of guidance, and cheating is rampant despite the ban. With stronger guidance and direction from teachers and administrators, we look forward to a future where we can effectively leverage AI in education and prepare for careers in industries that require the use of AI. March is New Jersey STEM Month, a time to embrace new technologies and methods. There is no better time to rethink the place of artificial intelligence in the classroom.
Bobby Brace is a senior at New Providence High School with a deep passion for applications related to the study of advanced computational methods for scientific discovery and social welfare. He is exploring unique applications of artificial intelligence through research work with his STEM scholars at the Governor's Office, and is promoting research at the university related to computer science to break computational breakthroughs that will one day bring societal benefit. We would like to promote the through process. Aaron Simpson is a senior at Atlantic City High School. He is a futurist who looks to the future with optimism. He studies environmental science and wants to protect the beauty of the earth and preserve it for future generations. He wants to travel the world to learn about Earth's different ecosystems and discover what humans can learn from nature. Both are his 2024 Governor's STEM Scholars, a program of the New Jersey Research and Development Council.
