Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for decades, even dating back to the 1950s. However, websites such as ChatGPT have crept their way into the world of education and their implications may not be as brilliant as we think.
AI in education can be a great tool to help students reach their highest potential. For example, AI can help students check grammar during English or guide students through a difficult math equation. Nevertheless, students need to be able to draw the line between using AI as an aid and becoming fully dependent on it, as it impacts them both inside the classroom and outside in the environment.
It is easy to get wrapped up in the convenience of AI when finishing an assignment late at night or having a tight deadline. Many students have an instinctual relationship with websites such as ChatGPT when they come across a relatively difficult problem and feel as if it is the easiest way to complete the assignment. According to freshman Mayra Tiwari, ChatGPT can be used to complete homework assignments or make studying easier by creating study guides.
“I think that AI can be both productive and unproductive, depending on how you use it,” junior Anya Turczyk said. “I think that we shouldn’t necessarily shy away from it because I think it is here to stay, but I also think that there are some people that aren’t using it right.”
Instituting AI can be a difficult endeavour, especially as a teacher. However, some teachers at WA almost always rely on AI and ChatGPT to plan their lessons. Being able to weave AI smoothly into a lesson while still allowing the students to use their creativity and own thoughts can be hard, as AI is able to give direct answers to problems which leaves little space for students to have original thoughts. In some of my classes, a teacher might create their whole lesson plan using ChatGPT and then instruct the students to use AI to help them complete the assignment.
Teachers using AI occasionally to create new ideas that may help their class better understand the unit can be beneficial. Many students learn differently and teachers weaving AI into classroom discussions at times may help cater to all learning styles.
“I have used [AI] for creating new problems, which has been really nice, especially [creating] word problems relevant to high school students,” math teacher Kristen Stamp said.
However, when teachers use AI in the classroom every day it starts to feel excessive as it is stripping students of the opportunity to learn on their own and all together devaluing their learning experiences. This way of teaching is not favored by many, as it can create errors in the worksheets while further developing the dependent relationship many students have with AI.
Not only is the excessive amount of AI affecting students and their studies, it is also affecting the environment. According to Kenza Bryant, a climate reporter for The Financial Times, the expansive AI data centers are largely contributing to the rise in global emissions and increase of global temperatures.
In order for applications such as ChatGPT and DALL-E to operate, there are many data centers that hold servers, data storage drives, and network equipment. The amount of power that even generative AI training clusters need in order to operate could consume seven or eight times the amount of energy compared to a regular computing workload.
According to MIT News, the power that is needed to deploy something such as OpenAI’s GPT-3 is difficult to find out. However, with a 2021 research paper, scientists from Google and the University of Berkeley estimated that the OpenAI’s training process generates about 552 tons of carbon dioxide.
Although carbon dioxide is one of Earth’s most important greenhouse gasses, as it absorbs heat that radiates from Earth’s surface, a surplus of it can amplify the natural greenhouse effect which in turn causes the global temperatures to rise. Therefore, the constant addition of new AI data centers is continuously contributing to the warming of the Earth.
Nearly everyone I have talked to in school has used AI at one point or another in time to help them with their classes. So although you may not feel as if your five minutes on ChatGPT is doing any harm, the harsh reality is that it is. Even the smallest use of AI is contributing to the hundreds of tons of carbon dioxide being emitted into the Earth.
Using a search engine such as Google, which became the first carbon-neutral company in 2007, or Ecosia, a non-profit that uses its profits to plant trees worldwide, can be the first step to slowly cutting down on fossil fuel release. Although these websites may not give straight forward answers like ChatGPT would, this is one small way students can both cut down on their AI use and fossil fuel releases.
So, the next time you feel like hopping on ChatGPT to ask a quick question, think for a second about what other resources you may have: brainstorm with friends, family, or ask a more eco-friendly search engine. Saving creativity, self-thought, and the Earth is far more important than a question you have on your math homework.
