Published: Just now
The text robot ChatGPT has revolutionized the way to quickly produce texts.
At the same time, the Swedish National Agency for Education is accused of being late in preventing it from being used to cheat among Swedish schoolchildren – something that worries the teachers.
– I want to be able to assess what skills Stina and Kalle have, not what ChatGPT can do, says teacher Henrik Birkebo in Trollhättan.
The use of AI technology has exploded with ChatGPT. Open AI’s text bot reached 100 million users in two months since it was released for free to use late last year.
And now the Swedish school is facing a discussion about how technology can affect the students’ everyday life.
Since texts written by ChatGPT are not searchable, the function opens up opportunities for cheating among students. Something that caused the Swedish National Agency for Education to act as they now advise against using submissions as basis for grading.
One who early noticed both the possibilities, but also the downsides of ChatGPT, is Henrik Birkebo, Swedish and English teacher at Magnus Åbergsgymnasiet in Trollhättan.
“The school board was late”
In February he wrote a debate article in Svenska Dagbladet, where he questioned how the chatbot could be used in the speaking part of the national tests in Swedish. The speech must be submitted to the teacher in advance with specified sources and main points.
As the teacher cannot rule out that ChatGPT has written the speech, the process can be considered legally secure, says Henrik Birkebo, and urged the National Board of Education to pause the exams, waiting for how to deal with the emergence of AI.
Something that was not approved.
– I think the Swedish National Agency for Education was late when it came to acting. They have said that they have redone the national exams for the fall and that they will then place more emphasis on the actual performance of the speech than how it is written. But when it comes to the tests this spring, the train has already left as we are working on them right now, he tells Aftonbladet.
When asked how widespread the use of ChatGPT is among students at the moment, Henrik Birkebo says that it varies.
– As I said, everything goes very fast now and knowledge about this is increasing all the time, although of course it varies a lot. But I think the use is very widespread in some places. Of course there are students and teachers who still don’t know this exists, but there are also those who have a lot of knowledge about this.
Detecting and preventing fraud with AI technology can also be difficult, and requires a lot of extra time.
– What differs from normal Google searches is that you cannot search for texts produced by ChatGPT. Each text is unique and is written in real time. This makes it very difficult to prove that they are written by a robot and not by the student himself. Proving such things is both very time-consuming detective work, but also very boring.
– It is always said that as a teacher you know your students and that you notice if they suddenly overachieve. But it is not enough that you feel that something is wrong, you must also be able to prove it.
“There have always been ghostwriters”
Henrik Birkebo clarifies that he is not against the development, but sees a danger that digital text generators like ChatGPT can inhibit the development of knowledge in the long term.
– The only thing that is interesting to me as a teacher is what benefits learning. I have nothing against the students writing homework at home, but for me as a teacher I can’t grade it. Therefore, I think it is not wise that certain courses are conducted entirely remotely. Especially now that tools like this are available.
– At the same time, we will get into this with legal certainty regarding grades. A grade is a receipt and thus a ticket for further education at college and university.
At the same time, he states that cheating has always occurred.
– There have always been ghostwriters of various kinds, it’s nothing new. I read a tip that people with social capital have always gotten ahead, but now that it’s available to everyone, it’s suddenly dangerous. I think they have a point.
Henrik Birkebo therefore sees that tools like ChatGPT will place even higher demands on schools in the future. Among other things, that the teachers get more time with their students.
– The biggest concern for me as a teacher is that these tools are seen as shortcuts. That they can “streamline” teaching and that the Crown can rule. That stinginess deceives wisdom. Basically, this is a systemic issue, but also a political issue. Who actually owns the school and what is its purpose?
So what do you as a teacher see as risks?
– If I were to be carried all my life, I would never be forced to learn to walk. If I use ChatGPT when I do my schoolwork, I don’t have to learn to write, think and express myself. I leave all that to the robot. Thus we end up in a situation where the robot owns me, rather than me owning the robot.
Must be awake
What demands does this place on you as a teacher?
– My colleagues and I have to keep up and understand what is happening. I can’t lean back, then I get knocked over. I want to be able to assess what skills Stina and Kalle have and what grades they should get based on that, not what ChatGPT can do.
Can you understand that the development has been fast and that, for example, the Swedish School Administration has therefore not really kept up?
– It has grown exponentially since it was released in November last year, but I still think that you should have understood this at least before the end of the year. Since so much has been said and written about it. There are many questions you should ask yourself about this and instead of being forced into panic measures, I think you should have pressed the pause button much earlier to have time to consider this a bit.
What solutions do you see in the future to prevent cheating?
– We use a special computer program where a text box appears that the students in the room write in. During that time, you cannot open other tabs or search the internet. It has worked great.
– At the same time, as a teacher, I must continue to be alert and awake.