AI Meets Academics

Recent advances in artificial intelligence have resulted in considerable concern across higher education and other learning contexts. With a simple prompt (perhaps copy/pasted from your Canvas course!), artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT can produce a reasonably good essay in seconds.

Before exploring the ideas and resources below, you may wish to do a bit of experimentation with the tools themselves. ChatGPT is a popular and free tool you might choose to explore, although it does require the creation of a free account.

You may also benefit from viewing this AI slide presentation which arose from the LBC | Capital Artificial Intelligence task force presentation at the Fall ‘23 faculty workshop.

Framing Principles

Thoughtful Christian educators should avoid knee-jerk oversimplifications or reactions even when considering tools like AI that seem to threaten much of the academic enterprise. You may wish to reflect on the following principles or concepts as you formulate your own responses to AI in your classroom:

• Talk with Students: Your students likely already know about AI and it’s potential uses - have an open conversation and be willing to brainstorm with them what it might look like to use these tools productively, as well as thinking Christianly about the temptations we might face in the midst of the semester.
• Assign the Right Work: Poor writing assignment structures (I’m looking at you, 5 paragraph essay!) have good reason to be worried about AI. Our writing assignments should focus students on the process of effortful and meaningful thinking and revision. Consider how our prompts and grading structures may promote or hinder process rather than a set “standardized” product. Read more from writing expert and faculty member John Warner here.
• Procrastination: Students generally do not set out at the beginning of the semester intending to plagiarize or cheat - these missteps most typically occur due to procrastination. Creating scaffolded assignment checkpoints or similar aids to help students think well will consistently undermine temptations for students to resort to plagiarism to complete work on time.
• Tone: We might be tempted to strongly dissuade students in ALL CAPS syllabus text from employing AI, but consider framing toward trust in our learning communities. Although sinners by nature, your students also are Christ-followers in process of being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Let’s use this as a positive discipleship moment in the lives of our learners.
• Use the AI!: Shift the conversation from cheating to playful experimentation and creativity. This is a part of what learning ought to be for image-bearers - consider low stakes activities or assignments where students experiment with how they might use AI in your discipline responsibly - perhaps for exam review, to critique it’s capabilities, or to consider how such tools may impact your academic discipline over time.

Resources

Many bright minds across the academy are considering how to tackle the issues raised by artificial intelligence. Certainly each academic discipline will face different concerns, but the following resources represent current thinking and responses:

• Five Ideas for How Professors Can Deal with GPT…For Now: This article provides a measured, thought provoking, and faithfully Christian response to this matter.
• ChatGPT: Understanding the new landscape and short-term solutions: This google doc contains many resources and has been created collaboratively by leading thinkers in teaching and learning from across higher education.
• ChatGPT Q&A: If you are curious of the quality of writing AI is capable of, this google doc was created by a faculty member testing various prompts. Note on pages 21-23 he asked the AI to produce a list of ways students and faculty might use ChatGPT for learning, and the ideas are overall pretty helpful.
• Three Things to Know about AI Tools and Teaching: Derek Bruff’s article provides very helpful guidance and suggestions for how to lead students through conversations about AI.
• I Interview ChatGPT: Faculty member Cynthia Alby interviews ChatGPT artificial intelligence to explore how it might impact higher education classrooms. This transcript provides a fascinating read.
• GPTZero: If you suspect a student has used ChatGPT or similar AI, this free tool allows you to copy and past text to detect whether AI has been used.