An AI website called Chat GPT is wreaking havoc throughout colleges in America. The University of Minnesota expelled a third-year health economics Ph.D. student in November after faculty accused him of using artificial intelligence on an exam. He later denied the claims, but what it does prove is that colleges are scared of Chat GPT. Chat GPT is a free AI website that many college students use to cheat on online tests and writing assignments. Chat GPT’s influence on college students is undermining the learning system, leaving students with a good grade but nothing gained, so the board of Open AI nonprofit – the heads of Open AI – should eliminate the free Chat GPT option and leave only Chat GPT Plus.
Chat GPT gives any student with a device and an internet connection a free pass to cheat on tests. In the article “Students caught cheating using AI on final; academic integrity policy updated,” Jonathan Levin writes about how, at Yeshiva College, multiple students were apprehended utilizing AI on a Final exam. Yeshiva has updated its integrity policy to prohibit this kind of thing, yet it remains to be seen whether it will solve the problem. This is one alarming example of what is happening all over the country. Students use Chat GPT for everything from multiple-choice questions to entire essays. If this continues, then education as we know it will perish because no longer will students have the same college experience. In addition, according to Forbes, 48% of college students admitted to using Chat GPT on a test. Nearly half of all college students is a massive amount. If half of all of the country can’t write an essay for themselves, how is society going to function? How is society going to function if we can’t trust our doctors’ education or our teachers’ education? As you can see, Chat GPT is a huge issue in education because students cheat on tests and tarnish the entire education system, ultimately impacting our country’s future.
To address this, the board of Open AI nonprofit should abolish the free Chat GPT and leave only Chat GPT Plus, a more expensive alternative to Chat GPT. If college students are still paying for Chat GPT Plus, the board should raise the price from $20 a month to $50 a month as an extra layer of defense against students cheating. An article from Backlinko states that 390 million more people use regular Chat GPT than Chat GPT Plus. If there was only Chat GPT Plus, then there would be way fewer people using Chat GPT. (https://backlinko.com/chatgpt-stats) Currently, the majority of people prefer the free version, and college students with limited budgets are unlikely to have the cash to pay for Chat GPT Plus. In addition, Investopedia states that if the price of a good or service is higher, there are going to be fewer people purchasing that good or service. If there is only a more expensive good or service, there are going to be fewer users/buyers. Eliminating free Chat GPT will have the same effect: Higher cost, less college students buying and utilizing it.
I do not believe that Chat GPT is a bad service. On the contrary, I believe it is beneficial to many people. For example, teachers can use Chat GPT to generate lesson plans and enhance student engagement. However, college students are not a group that Chat GPT is helpful for, and leaving only Chat GPT Plus is a great way to discourage students from using AI to cheat. I mentioned earlier that Yeshiva College updated its integrity policy in an attempt to combat Chat GPT. At first glance, integrity policies seem like a great way to discourage students from cheating, but college students are young and don’t understand the consequences of their actions. Cutting the problem off at the source is the best way to eliminate Chat GPT’s effects on education.
Clearly, Chat GPT is an enormous issue concerning the education system. Eradicating Chat GPT, the free version, is the best way to stop College students from cheating. The world is evolving, and I understand that. But that doesn’t mean the young people of our country can slack off. In 15 years, if we don’t have educated minds, the world is going to be in disarray. I hope that in 15 years, our society will be full of geniuses like Leonardo Davinci, Albert Einstein, and Marie Curie, but Chat GPT’s existence will never let us achieve this.
