Trend 3

Adapting to Artificial Intelligence

Huge improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) are making homework obsolete and educators face an identity crisis.

Your AI companion is here

With the introduction of powerful and accessible new AI tools, a profound societal impact is on the horizon, similar in scale to the introduction of the calculator or the world wide web. And it’s happening fast. The most striking example of this is the rapid adoption of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which grew to over a million users in only five days – making it one of the fastest growing product launches of all time.

Time it took to reach 1 million users

ChatGPT creates original, high-quality text through a simple chat interface, meaning it can assist with tasks, research, and writing on any topic. You can use it to tell a story, write a poem, or turn in an article at the press of a button. And now every student and educator has access to this incredibly smart and capable assistant. Education will never be the same again.

“2022 was the year AI took center stage”
Source: Forbes

More AI innovation to come in 2023 and beyond

Midjourney - Jul Image generation
Stable Diffusion - Aug Image generation
Dall-E2 - Sep Image generation
ChatGPT - Nov Advanced text generation

Challenges of change

Mass plagiarism. The end of homework. The death of critical thinking. Since its release, the media has speculated wildly on ChatGPT’s impact on education, mostly spelling doom. After all, what good does assessing an essay do when no work has gone into it? As outlined in The Atlantic’s The College Essay Is Dead, the integrity of the essay as a measure of learning may already be gone forever, and the same could be said for other creative works.

0% of students admitted to using AI for school work in December.

It calls into question not just what skills students should consider focusing on for the future, but the very nature of learning and ability. ChatGPT turned F-level students into B-level students overnight. Using these AI tools, students can now churn out original essays and art without anything resembling real learning or effort. We’re already seeing educators respond to this in a variety of ways.

0% of school leaders are concerned about AI plagiarism.

“You can no longer give take-home exams/homework. The OpenAI chat is better than the average MBA at this point. It is frankly amazing.”
— Kevin Bryan, Associate Professor at University of Toronto
Source: Twitter

When the commercial graphing calculator was released in the 1980s, many schools and teachers banned the technology on the basis that it was a threat to learning. However, once its existence was accepted, it raised the standard and attitude toward math in education.

Code red

In December 2022, Google declared a code red, recognizing the threat ChatGPT has to its core business and redirecting teams to refocus their efforts on AI projects.

To move forward, schools will issue their own code red of sorts. We’ve already seen NYC schools ban ChatGPT on school networks; others will adapt to the reality that AI is a powerful tool that’s here to stay. According to Ryan Watkins, Professor at George Washington University, this adaptation may involve steps like reevaluating syllabi, setting new standards for learning, and rethinking assignments and assessments.

“Educators (ready or not) are recognizing AI has arrived in our classrooms and is here to stay. It is time to raise our learning expectations to match the tools that are now available. If used properly, the emergence of AI can offer a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect and think creatively about the tasks we ask students to spend their time on.”
Ryan Watkins, Professor
George Washington University

Our view at Sora

The impact of AI on education will be enormous and unavoidable. But that doesn’t necessarily mean bad. The questions around exactly how we’ll put these tools to good use remain to be answered. Its potential as a teaching assistant or creative tool is undeniable; it’s up to educators to reckon with the difficult questions of what is a tool and what is cheating.

Garrett Smiley
CEO at Sora Schools
“This is undoubtedly a transformative technology. It has the potential to give every educator an infinite team of assistants. We’re actively building this into our classes, showing students how to use these tools to elevate their work.”