Proceed with Caution and Integrity!
It wasn’t long ago I found myself in the musty basement of Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound doing research using a microfiche. My much younger fellow graduate students had no idea what a microfiche was and quickly introduced me to the wonders of online research. I found the documents I needed with less effort from the comfort of my home. In case you are wondering, microfiche and microfilm are still used in libraries and archive institutions, but possibly not for long.[1]
Technological advances have greatly impacted how we learn. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree without owning a typewriter or a computer. Today, my elementary school age grandchildren are issued their own computers on the first day of class. I will forever be playing catch-up in this digital age! It’s unwise to remain fearful and confused about things I don’t understand. I signed up for ChatGPT and entered the world of AI. I had mixed feelings engaging yet another threshold concept and thought it would take hours to learn. I didn’t anticipate enjoying it. I’m uncomfortable with how easy it was to use and how fast ChatGPT generated an essay.
Dangers: When I first heard about the use of AI in academia, I was immediately concerned about the unfair advantage students with access would have and thus contribute to the ever widening achievement gap. I suspected AI would increase cheating, be challenging to manage, and difficult to detect. The possibilities for abuse seemed endless. My fears were not unfounded, but they have been somewhat relieved. After all, AI is not going away.
David Boud suggests two dangerous aspects of using AI. First, information retrieved may contain or create unhelpful biases. This is detrimental not only for higher education and research but impacts society negatively. Second, Boud states, “There has been a continuing shift from the problem of accessing information to that of trustworthiness.” If I don’t know who is writing something and where the information is coming from, how can I trust it? Citing the use of AI writers is not clearly defined, contributing to misinformation, and undetected plagiarism. Though Boud believes AI will influence learning positively he warns misuse could impede learning outcomes. Students must learn to think.[2] I’m proceeding with caution.
Limitations: According to Michael Webb one of the biggest challenges is that AI is not good at facts or math. This will improve with time. AI can’t be used for everything. It was never intended for essay writing.[3] One limitation for me is that it creates more information overload with sources that must be verified. In How to Read Numbers, Tom Chivers and David Chivers warned, “Numbers can be manipulated by those who are either misinformed, intentionally trying to deceive, or presenting information they want to believe.”[4] Information generated using AI must be checked, as I discovered.
Using ChatGPT I asked the following questions:
What is a microfiche? Are microfiche becoming obsolete?
https://chat.openai.com/2212bb11-f2a7-4897-84a2-3e3020deadf3
References were not given.
Using ChatGPT I generated the following command: Write a 250 word academic essay on the dangers of AI with references.
https://chat.openai.com/share/f3b0e483-b9f7-482c-9b87-8dfdd86b829d
References were included. Two legitimate, one incomplete, and the other not found. I entered the same question four times generating four different essays.
Possibilities: In Eight Ways to Engage AI Writers in Higher Education, Lucinda McKnight highlights ways to engage responsibly with AI. One helpful suggestion is to use an AI writer for research purposes. Creating an essay using ChatGPT to uncover additional reference materials and generate further research questions can contribute to original thoughts and ideas.[5] As a former English writing teacher and instructor of educators she believes AI can be used creatively and has the potential to enhance higher levels of thinking. McKnight encourages students to not be afraid of using AI and advocates for the development of clear guidelines for ethical use.[6] Her perspective and excitement about AI reduced my concerns.
Using AI, I listened to Chatting and Cheating: Ensuring Academic Integrity in the Era of ChatGPT. It was fascinating how the authors of the article generated, edited, collaborated, documented, and ultimately published writing about ChatGPT using ChatGPT. The article highlighted promising applications such as asynchronous communication, immediate feedback on work, collaboration, and personalized learning and assessments.[7] It provided a helpful example of how to ethically cite the use of ChatGPT.
Additionally, David Boud noted that using AI could be helpful with cognitive offloading freeing the student to focus on the essential task of learning and thus save time by taking over boring or tedious tasks.[8]
At the beginning of this post my quick google search produced an instant and easily referenced article on microfiche that provided a reasonable answer to a relatively simple question. That type of “research” was impossible 40-years ago. Using ChatGPT creatively and ethically is intriguing. However, generating thoughts and reflections, being surprised by, and responsible for what emerges through my writing process is what I most enjoy. Determining ethical guidelines for using AI are important moving forward, not just in academia but in news reporting, social media, and other sources of written information. My goal is to use AI with integrity for appropriate tasks, citing its use as a research aid, and check resources generated following ethical and institutional guidelines. I’m still on the fence if I will actually use ChatGPT, but grateful my microfiche days are over!
- “The Ultimate Guide to Microfiche and Microfilm,” Accessed August 31, 2023, https://bp-ms.co.uk/the-ultimate-guide-to-microfiche-and-microfilm/
- David Boud – Assessment AI 27032023.mp4
- Michael Webb, University of Kent: Chat-GPT-3 and its Impact on Education: MichaelWebb.mp4.
- Tom Chivers and David Chivers, How to Read Numbers. (London, UK: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2021),115.
- Lucinda McKnight, Eight Ways to Engage AI Writers in Higher Education, Times Higher Education, October 14, 2022, https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/eight-ways-engage-ai-writers-higher-education
- Lucinda McKnight, “Anticipating the impact of AI-based writing on education and assessment,” Accessed August 31, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEvvi-0Wggc
- Debbie R.E. Cotton, Peter A. Cotton, and J. Reuben Shipway, “Chatting and Cheating: Ensuring Academic Integrity in the Era of ChatGPT.” Innovations in Education and Teaching International March 6, 2023, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14703297.2023.2190148
About the Author
Jenny Dooley
Jenny served as a missionary in Southeast Asia for 28 years. She currently resides in Gig Harbor, Washington, where she works as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Spiritual Director in private practice with her husband, Eric. Jenny loves to listen and behold the image of God in others. She enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her family which include 5 amazing adult children, 3 awesome sons-in-law, a beautiful daughter-in-law, and 8 delightful grandchildren.11 responses to “Proceed with Caution and Integrity!”
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I walked into the Pikes Peak State College and heading toward the card catalogue. There isn’t one. I paused and wondered how do I find a book or the area where immigration titles were kept?
Hmmmm….it took me about a minute to realize that there was a bank of computers lined up for just that purpose.
Sigh…Microfiche…Card Catalogues…plane tickets on phones…Artificial Intelligence? We have arrived.
I liked your statement…My goal is to use AI with integrity for appropriate tasks, citing its use as a research aid, and check resources generated following ethical and institutional guidelines. I’m still on the fence if I will actually use ChatGPT, but grateful my microfiche days are over!
ditto….
I don’t need anybody to write for me, but the research, translation and other mundane tasks can be taken over by ChatGPT, this gives me more brain cells to work on what only I can do.
Shalom…
Hi Russell,
Thanks for responding to my post. I feel like a fish out of water with ChatGPT while at the same time realizing how much I actually use AI already. I am struggling to understand what types of things to ask ChatGPT in relation to my studies. I was intrigued when you mentioned translation but it sounds like it is not that useful. I am thinking… looking way forward beyond my project that some training materials might need to be translated. For know, I must stay focused on the tasks in front of me. Maybe ChatGPT’s translation abilities will improve with time.
Jenny, great post! I do know what a microfiche is (I’m quite sure my children do not), and it was certainly accessible back in the days when I was in school, and I probably SHOULD have used it. I’m thinking I did perhaps two or three times and that’s it. Ha!
As I read what you said about the ways AI can contain/create bias, I started to wonder if there is an ethical rubric that someone has developed that provides a helpful guide for using an AI writer. Something that would be in the spirit of a “journalist’s creed” (like a code of ethics that journalists use) or a code of ethics like one that software engineers use. I’m sure if I paused for a second and did quick google search, I’d find such a rubric. Alas, like you, I am still on the fence regarding how much I will use a tool like ChatGPT. I know it’s not so much a matter of “if;” it’s “when.”
Travis,
Sometimes I do wish for the days of microfiche and spending long hours in beautiful university libraries. I remember during my senior year at the University of Washington the Suzzallo Library became my most inspiring place to study. I felt smarter just being in the building…and the smell of the books! I wonder if today’s students appreciate the time consuming tasks of previous generations or the history that is represented in the buildings where generations of students have studied. I know many students who have completed their degrees completely online. I’m a little sad for what they missed while at the same time grateful more students have options for higher education.
An article about ChatGPT written using ChatGPT? I’m intrigued. I’ll have to check it out.
I appreciate your summary toward the end of your post: “My goal is to use AI with integrity for appropriate tasks, citing its use as a research aid, and check resources generated following ethical and institutional guidelines.” I’ve been having a hard time wrapping my head around what it will actually look like to use AI, but your summary makes it a little more tangible for me. Thanks!
Kim, That article was interesting. I felt rather cheeky using AI to read it out loud to me. Ha! I am still trying to figure out how to use it too. The most interesting thing to me was seeing how they referenced it. What I really want to know is how much time did the “authors” take to collaborate, write/edit, and check references after using ChatGPT to generate the article? Did it save them any time? Did they uncover anything new or surprising?
Appreciate and agree with you that this is an intriguing landscape, provided it’s used ethically.
And I think your warning using the lessons we learned in “How to read numbers” was spot on. Because we can’t determine where AI got its information from (it’s notoriously bad at references) we really can’t trust anything it presents as truth without robust review.
Nevertheless, I’m a convert to finding out how to best make this work for me and hold onto my soul at the same time.
Hi Tim,
The “robust review” is what I am not sure I want to waste my time on. As I mentioned to Kim above, I am curious if ChatGPT really saves time. Additionally, would I retain any information that I did not have to work that hard for? I am trying to be creative. I just asked ChatGPT for the 10 best restaurants in London. It had not been updated since September 2021!
https://chat.openai.com/share/c54fb76c-1037-4130-b1b5-53c8fd61432b
UPDATE: My “robust review” using google search supported the findings of a possible culinary experience while in London.
Dishoom Kensington. https://www.dishoom.com/kensington/
Anyone up for Indian food?
Love your openness and willingness to engage AI. The only way to overcome fear is to usually engage the thing, person, or group we’ve been hesitant about. I had many of the same concerns until I engaged it this week and saw the benefit, and also the danger. It CAN be pretty accurate and generate an essay in a few seconds. Like you said, it’s not going away so we might as well better understand it and use it for good.
I like how you showed your process of looking up microfiche with links. Good idea and now I know more about it!
Thank you, Adam.
After reading your post I want to try asking ChatGPT to answer a question using humor! Even AI can be funny.
I had a hilarious experience with Siri once in which “she” responded with so much sass I was offended. If my family hadn’t heard it I doubt anyone would have believed me. I rarely use Siri! But after that experience I did set Siri to respond with a British accent. Everything sounds kinder with a British accent!