Free online service ChatGPT has alarmed teachers as it can churn out convincing essays that can't be detected by anti-plagiarism software
Elon Musk has declared the end of homework after New York schools attempted to clamp down on pupils using a new artificial intelligence chatbot to cheat.
The tech billionaire, who was an early investor in the company behind ChatGPT, wrote on Twitter: “It’s a new world. Goodbye homework!”
ChatGPT, released by the Silicon Valley company OpenAI in November, is a free online service that has alarmed teachers due to its ability to churn out convincing essays which can't be detected by their existing anti-plagiarism software.
It’s a new world. Goodbye homework!
Anyone who registers for an account can type questions into it, including requests for essays on any subject, and have them answered by the chatbot’s algorithms.
New York City’s education department said this week that students and teachers have been blocked from accessing the chatbot on state devices or internet networks.
It cited “negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and agency of content”.
“While the tool may be able to provide quick and easy answers to questions, it does not build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success,” a spokesperson said.
The move will pose a challenge for schools and Governments around the world considering how to respond to the game-changing new technology.
The Telegraph revealed last week that Ofqual, the exam watchdog for England, was considering whether schools should be given guidance on how to prevent pupils from cheating on coursework with the chatbot.
Headteachers said they were planning emergency talks this week to work out how to respond to the technology.
Teachers who marked three ChatGPT answers to GCSE questions in English language, English literature and history for The Telegraph said they would score between a grade 4, or standard pass, and a grade 6.
Education leaders are divided about whether to ban the technology or use it as an educational tool.
New York City said that individual schools can request access to the chatbot for the purpose of studying AI and technology.
John Kleeman, the founder of Questionmark, the online assessment provider, has said that ChatGPT demonstrates how schools and universities are over-reliant on essays as a form of assessment and must focus more on alternative tests, such as oral exams and practical or observational exams. He said: “As a technology, it is fantastically impressive, really showing us how AI is going to change the world.”
Duncan Byrne, the deputy head teacher of Charterhouse School in Surrey, said last week that teachers will consider changing homework by asking pupils to do their research outside of the classroom and write more essays in class. “We may have to resort more to this to make sure children are doing their own work,” he said.
