Interview to Isaac Pinto: The impact of Artificial Intelligence on education

The digital world is changing the way we learn and teach and has been present in Marist educational activities for some time now. Now that artificial intelligence (AI) is taking center stage, it is necessary to analyze its implications for education and the Marist mission. One of the most eloquent expressions in day-to-day AI is ChatGPT. Regarding this issue, the Marist Region of Europe has published on its website an interview with Isaac Pinto Gismero, Coordinator of Technologies for Learning and Knowledge (TLK) of the Marists of Ibérica. Below, we reproduce the interview, where he explains what this application consists of and details the possible repercussions it could have in the educational field.

Isaac, what is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is an application that allows us to communicate with Artificial Intelligence. AI is a part of computer science where we attempt to replicate human behaviours within a machine. One of the most significant areas within AI is machine learning. The machine not only follows the guidelines we provide (for example, moving a box from one place to another) but is capable of learning that when that box appears, it should be moved elsewhere. There is a deeper level of learning (Deep Learning), where machines can identify more complex concepts.

ChatGPT is an application that enables us to communicate with a Deep Learning Artificial Intelligence called GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer): it generates content, is pre-trained, and produces results through transformations.

How is ChatGPT used?

We ask ChatGPT to generate text with certain characteristics, and the application produces it based on its pre-existing knowledge. This knowledge, at the moment, encompasses all the information available on the Internet. Or, more precisely, all the information that was on the Internet until 2021.

One issue is that if we ask for information it doesn’t have (recent current affairs for instance), ChatGPT may create a response. It will never leave a blank space; it will develop the text requested with the information available or it will make it up if needed.

Who has access to this tool?

Anyone. It’s a public and free application; you just need to register with an email account. The company that created ChatGPT, OpenAI (founded, among others, by Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter), has allowed anyone without knowledge on artificial intelligence to use it. The interface is very simple, like a chat.

What are the implications in our daily lives?

It’s a new technology, and its possibilities are still being defined. The issue is that we run the risk of using this technology for any purpose without regulations. This is another problem; steps are being taken in the European Union and Spain to regulate AI use. However, there is no regulation yet. So, are we using it in society legally and ethically? It’s a problem that still needs to be addressed. Some countries and companies are already restricting its use.

As far as we know now, this tool can help any worker, for example, in generating texts. Texts that used to take a lot of time and effort to write can now be generated in seconds. We need to consider the risk, as mentioned before, of whether the information is correct or not. My critical thinking and knowledge will have to analyse that document.

Furthermore, can I use that text as my own and publish it as such? If you ask ChatGPT who owns the intellectual property of the generated text, it will say it’s its own. And if you ask under what conditions you can use it, it refers you to the OpenAI website, where those conditions are not yet clear.

We work in the educational field, Isaac, where besides workers, there are students, with families probably wondering: What does all this mean for a child’s or teenager’s learning process?

The application is available to anyone, including students. And here we face an important scenario. If a teacher assigns a “300-word essay about the first moon landing” as homework, there is a risk that ChatGPT might do it. Moreover, the student can ask the AI to write it using the language of a 13-year-old with three spelling mistakes.

For teachers, there are two alternatives: to limit the use of ChatGPT within the school or to use it as a pedagogical tool to benefit from it. I would opt for the second option, incorporating it into the classroom. Students learn how to use this artificial intelligence, and they do it critically, which is the most significant aspect. We can use this AI to acquire 21st-century skills.

The provincial LKT coordination is reflecting on the uses of this program in the educational field. What exactly is being done?

For a few weeks now, we have formed a working group to study the use of AI in education. We have divided this process into two parts. The first is focused on analysing and categorizing different AIs (not just text generators; there are design, voice transcription, programming AIs, etc.). In this more technical part, we will study legal requirements, the technology behind it, and provide some small recommendations for its use.

In a second phase, another group of professionals from different educational stages, based on that categorization, will propose activities within the classroom. For example, a Language subject professional in secondary education may suggest how to use ChatGPT in the classroom. The goal is that we can use this tool safely and targeted towards education in the future.

Interview by Anabel Abad with Isaac Pinto Gismero, LKT Coordinator for the Iberian Province