It’s all downhill to summer now!

The school year is clearly starting to wrap up. In May, I will need to attend a science fair, student run speakers conference, debate competitions, and not to mention loads of end of year celebrations. Final papers are due, and exam week is around the corner.

I needed help, and I found it surprisingly in ChatGPT.

In our house we have been talking a lot about ChatGPT. My oldest son brought it up last fall, as something friends were using to gain an advantage in researching and writing code. His teachers at school were warned about it. Students were told not to use it. The message was clear… Use of ChatGPT is considered cheating.

But is it?

ChatGPT is a computer program that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate text. Launched by research company OpenAI, it gathers large amounts of data from the internet to create responses on demand. ChatGPT is unique because its answers are in conversational format, similar to how people write and speak. It can write essays and computer code, solve math problems, and much more.

Although it is not accessible in Hong Kong right now, a simple VPN fix and you can be chatting away with a highly intelligent unsettling friend.

Many school districts are blocking ChatGPT on campus networks and school-issued devices. The concern is that students could use it to do their schoolwork for them, from writing papers to solving equations. Educators are worried the program could affect students’ learning if they rely on it.

If you haven’t already, you should check with your children’s school to see if and how they allow students to use ChatGPT. At my daughter’s school, they seem to be leaning INTO it. The Head of School hosted a Parent Inspiration Program entitled, “Is AI Technology the Terminator of Education?” Apparently, the answer is NO. They are using the program to augment and enhance the curriculum to make it more dynamic to develop the critical skill to be AI proficient.

For families, ChatGPT has so many extraordinary uses. Parents have been using chatbots for supporting mental healtheducation and learningshopping and consumer support, and entertainment and fun. Recently, I helped plan a friend’s five day trip to Sydney using ChatGPT. As we watched the responses together over Zoom, we couldn’t help getting excited about the trip together.

As a parent, ChatGPT has become a mediator.

My thirteen-year-old daughter has been working on a persuasive argument essay for her social studies class. And over dinner we started getting into a heated debate about her topic. She was trying to be persuasive, and I thought I was offering perspective… but apparently I was arguing.

That’s when I had a brilliant idea – I suggested that she ask ChatGPT for its opinion. Well, to my surprise, my daughter actually took my advice and started arguing with ChatGPT about her essay topic. Her questions were returned with facts, resources, and data from the computer. She returned with more questions, but this time without emotion.

I couldn’t believe it! My daughter was actually having a persuasive argument with a computer program, and I was just sitting there watching it all unfold.

Who knew that a computer program could help settle our parent-child arguments? I guess we’re living in the future now!