EDLunch: So, PBL survives GPT?
“What comes to mind when you think of ChatGPT in relation to (your) education?” asked Walter Jansen as he opened the EDLunch session at EDLAB last Monday.
ChatGPT is here to stay, but PBL can handle it
The curious and eager audience of staff and students seemed well acquainted with the new AI language model chatbox and its capabilities. Their answers appeared in a digital word cloud with words like “challenge, risk, fraud and crisis”, but also “interesting, exciting, and let’s play with this.” A majority agreed that ChatGPT is here to stay.
Evolution or Revolution?
Walter pointed out that education has survived and developed alongside AI tools such as WolframAlpha (math exercises), GoogleMaps (topography), AIVA (composition), Stockfish (chess), Deepl (translation). “Is ChatGPT an evolution or a revolution?” he asked the audience. One teacher said this period reminded them of the introduction of the calculator. It raises the critical question, “Do you test other outcomes or remove the tool completely?”
Like people, ChatGPT is not without its flaws. It is helpful to consider this when devising methods to integrate AI into education. For instance, a lecturer may ask students to improve or analyse content produced by the chatbox. Maastricht University is developing rules and regulations regarding its use, but ultimately, the feeling in the room was that trust in the system and in students is key.
What makes us human?
Finally, Walter shared that he had quizzed the robot on a fairly existential question: “What makes us uniquely human?” The answer to this question will help us to determine how we can best move forward with the technology. Among other features, ChatGPT replied: “social interaction, cultural context and self-directed learning”. Don’t these sound like the guiding principles of UM’s PBL teaching philosophy? How eery that ChatGPT recognises these as defining differences between itself and us!
By Munshya Mupela, Student Assistant at EDLAB
Also read
-
Two Maastricht University (UM) scientists will receive a €850,000 Vidi grant for their research projects. This was announced by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) on Thursday. Researcher Laure Wynants (CAPHRI/ FHML) will work with her team on more reliable AI models for healthcare. And neuroscientist Michelle Moerel will study at FSE and FPN how our brain filters sound.
-
Our voices are unique, and a lot of our personality and character is embodied in our voice. But what if we lose connection to our own voice, what if we think it is someone else’s?
-
A recent paper by Dr. Prabhat Ranjan, published in Chemical Science, highlights the photophysical properties of tryptamine-derived isocyanides, an underexplored area in isocyanide chemistry.