Migle Laukyte,
Lecturer in the Department of Law at UPF and member of the Evolution of Institutions Observatory Research Group

Only time will tell whether ChatGPT will revolutionize the world of education: for now, it seems like it might, especially if no other tool soon emerges to help us determine whether a text, image or video was generated with it or not. 

Nowadays, spotting the differences is not easy. What matters, then, is whether this revolution means evolution or regression in the field of education. But that will depend on us. And I stress us because I do not believe in the continuous transfer of responsibilities and decision-making to tools that we, human beings, also design, develop and use. In other words, it is not ChatGPT that will change the education system, but us, by using it or, on the contrary, disregarding it. 

I do not believe in the continuous transfer of responsibilities and decision-making to tools that we, human beings, also design, develop and use. In other words, it is not ChatGPT that will change the education system, but us, by using it or, on the contrary, disregarding it

For example, I could continue giving students written assignments to do at home and then grading them; obviously, in this new context, I will not always be able to tell whether an assignment was done by a student or ChatGPT. In other words, if I ignore this tool, I will remain in an imaginary world where my insistence on not using ChatGPT will be heeded to the letter, where students will have all the time in the world and optimal conditions to study, and where there is nothing they would rather do in life than their under- or postgraduate coursework. 

This imaginary world is utopian. The reality is much more interesting and stimulating: ChatGPT is a tool that offers me the possibility of rethinking what I ask of my students and what they will need in the future. With the rise of ChatGPT, the future seems to belong to those who understand what they are saying, who know how to present and defend their ideas, who know how to respond to other people’s questions and improvise answers even if they do not have them; to those who create, who can reason, who are not afraid (to make mistakes, to try, to take the plunge...); and to those who trust the magical system of thought that unfurls from one heartbeat to the next.

So, in the era of ChatGPT (and other similar systems), I may continue to give students writing assignments to do at home, but I will assess them based on how they present their work in class, or I will ask ChatGPT to generate the table of contents for each student’s essay and have them write it in class. I will also ask ChatGPT to generate questions in class for students to discuss, and I will let them use this tool to pose questions to their peers. 

What’s more, I will use ChatGPT in class to create new group activities, which I will then give (tables of contents, plans, suggestions, etc.) to ChatGPT to assess: with the result displayed on screen, we can all discuss and debate whether the system assessed them well and why. 

Truly, we can do much more in class with ChatGPT: what we cannot do is ignore it.