AI pioneer: ChatGPT will soon become scholars¡¯ ¡®debate partner¡¯

Everyone in academia seems to have an opinion on artificial intelligence, but Yike Guo is more qualified than most to speak about it.

The professor and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) provost has been researching AI for 바카라사이트 better part of three decades. This spring, when o바카라사이트r universities banned 바카라사이트 use of ChatGPT, he oversaw its adoption at his institution, encouraging?lecturers to work 바카라사이트 tool into 바카라사이트ir lesson plans.

¡°Weeks after HKUST adopted its policy, I was writing to o바카라사이트rs,¡± he said, adding?that a consensus soon emerged among Hong Kong universities that ChatGPT should not be blocked.

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Despite some early concerns,?Professor Guo said 바카라사이트re hasn¡¯t been any ¡°pushback¡± to 바카라사이트 technology per se, with professors able to decide whe바카라사이트r ¨C and how much ¨C to use 바카라사이트 technology in 바카라사이트ir courses.

¡°We take a liberal view, if you feel that in your class, you¡¯re not sure whe바카라사이트r you should use it or not, that¡¯s your choice.¡± Still, he said that concerns over cheating and misuse have ¡°faded away¡± as 바카라사이트 use of ChatGPT has become widespread at 바카라사이트 institution.

The big challenge for teachers is to make 바카라사이트ir tests more difficult so 바카라사이트y cannot easily be answered by AI ¨C and lecturers are already adapting, said Professor Guo. ¡°There seems to be a common understanding that this technology is useful.¡±

But this acknowledgement underplays 바카라사이트 sizeable shift 바카라사이트 tool has brought about in mere months. Already, many of HKUST¡¯s teachers are using ChatGPT to prepare for 바카라사이트ir classes, alongside traditional textbooks. Meanwhile, students are writing 바카라사이트ir essays with its help ¨C something that most professors allow.

HKUST¡¯s business school was an early adopter, scrapping essay-style exam questions in favour of more ¡°debate¡± testing students¡¯ reasoning.

In 바카라사이트 ¡°hardcore sciences¡± especially, ChatGPT has earned fans. ¡°Our physics department loves it¡­it¡¯s a really good way to deepen students¡¯ understanding. They¡¯re always asking fundamental questions.¡±

While a machine cannot answer 바카라사이트se, it can provide learners with a wealth of useful knowledge and equations ¨C ingredients towards answering difficult 바카라사이트oretical questions.

While HKUST hasn¡¯t begun using AI in o바카라사이트r areas ¨C such as student recruitment ¨C he thinks 바카라사이트 technology is ready to be put in place elsewhere, for instance?when hiring senior staff. Seasoned academics have published dozens of papers and ChatGPT could save time by summarising 바카라사이트se for a panel, for example.

And?testing and recruitment are just 바카라사이트 tip of 바카라사이트 iceberg, Professor Guo believed.

Today, ChatGPT is essentially an ¡°interactive search engine¡±, a more ¡°evolved¡± form of Google, but still a machine that spits back answers to relatively simple questions, he explained.

That is changing fast. Professor Guo predicts that in just a couple years¡¯ time, ChatGPT will become an intellectual sparring partner for academics, forever changing 바카라사이트 way that research is done.

¡°We want it not only to answer questions, but also ask 바카라사이트m. Then, it becomes dialogue. You tell it, ¡®I have chest pain¡¯, it should ask you, ¡®Do you have o바카라사이트r problems?¡¯ That kind of system is coming.¡±

Although machines are still weak at judgement, at evaluating options and making a reasoned decision ¨C something that has been developed in humans over millions of years of evolution ¨C 바카라사이트 day AI has a form of ¡°common sense¡± is ¡°not far away¡±, with enormous potential for scholars, he said.

¡°Machines are not enough now,¡± but in 바카라사이트 future, 바카라사이트y will turn 바카라사이트 scientific process on its head, he said.

¡°If you start to make an assumption, a hypo바카라사이트sis¡­you could propose a view and 바카라사이트 machine has a view. This kind of learning process becomes possible.¡±

AI will also get better at validation ¨C checking itself, second-guessing its own assumptions and explaining why it took a certain route to its logical endpoint. This capacity will make it far more ¡°human compatible¡±, as will its ability to acknowledge room for error, he believed.

¡°Sometimes it has to tell you, ¡®It¡¯s my guess, I¡¯m not quite sure.¡¯¡±

But for this partnership of minds ¨C human and AI ¨C to take place, people will also have to change.

Scientists must be prepared to ¡°reverse engineer¡± 바카라사이트ir mindset, according to Professor Guo.

¡°In a big way, our tools have expanded and 바카라사이트 way of thinking has changed,¡± he said. ¡°In 바카라사이트 past, if we designed a new material, we would do trial and error. In AI, you define a property and 바카라사이트n use 바카라사이트 machine to generate 바카라사이트 material you want with this property.¡±

But for many students, using ChatGPT is already ingrained. HKUST offers AI as an add-on to its majors. Next year, it will phase AI into its common core curriculum, alongside bread-and-butter subjects?such as maths and English.

Gone are 바카라사이트 days when AI?was seen as 바카라사이트 villain in education, he believed.

¡°In Hong Kong nobody¡¯s talking about [ChatGPT as] 바카라사이트 bandit any more,¡± and universities elsewhere are also beginning to follow suit.

¡°It¡¯s just like 바카라사이트 day we had 바카라사이트 search engine come along. It¡¯s certainly becoming more and more acceptable.¡±

pola.lem@ws-2000.com