“Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think” (Thomas Edison). We live in a world where technology has taken over the mind of man. Thinking is no longer something we do, but rather something we avoid. We would rather be told what to think, than put in the effort to think for ourselves. One new form of technology, ChatGPT, solidifies the demise of man, but more importantly, the value and intent of education. ChatGPT will bankrupt education if we are not careful.
For those of you who do not know what ChatGPT is, let me give a quick overview. “ChatGPT is a sibling model to InstructGPT, which is trained to follow an instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response” (openai.com). In other words, it is a platform where a user can put in specific prompts and restrictions, and then AI creates a detailed response using the given prompts and restrictions. ChatGPT will write anything you want, with as much detail as you want, using information found on the World Wide Web.
Anyone who thinks this is a good thing needs to detach from technology. ChatGPT is absolutely dangerous to the growth and development of society. ChatGPT destroys creativity. It destroys individual thought. It destroys reason and problem solving. Immanuel Kant wrote, “I think, therefore I am.” I exist, because I think. When we no longer are able to think for ourselves, our existence is in question. It is through thinking that we become better and stronger. Without the ability to think, we are but pawns in a game of life with no meaning.
In the classroom, ChatGPT inhibits creativity, learning, and growth. When students are not forced to think for themselves, they no longer have the skills to investigate, research, and problem solve. They no longer have the skills to critically think. One of the top skills wanted by 21st century employers is critical thinking skills. When the classroom no longer encourages critical thinking skills, students are no longer being prepared for the real world. This, then, is disastrous to the overall freedom and prosperity of society.
The very foundation of education is at risk when programs like ChatGPT are allowed in the classroom. The classroom is a place of personal and academic growth. It’s a place for students to learn skills that will prepare them for life beyond the classroom. One of the most crucial skills needed in the real world is the ability to reason and think beyond the simplicity of existence. If a student is given a task to compare the fall of Hitler to the fall of Stalin, and they choose to use ChatGPT to do the work for them, the loss of learning is exponential, as history is doomed to repeat itself if we never learn from it. Not to mention, the final product is not the student’s work. It’s neither their own thoughts, nor their own ruminations on the topic. There are many consequences for students who do not learn how to critically think.
Technology is a way of life. I get that. But if we are not careful, technology will create a world so incompetent that the human species will no longer have forward progression. We will be dependent on being told what to think rather than knowing how to think. Critical thinking will be a thing of the past. Those who hold positions of power will use the incompetence of humanity against the masses. Without the ability to think critically, mankind will be led by the most gentle of breezes. There will be no one to consider the ways of man and determine a better, more prosperous way of life.
We must guard and hold fast to the invaluable skill of thinking and thought. We must encourage critical thinking and teach our students how to think. We must be careful with technology. We must learn to detach from what society considers progressive thought and consider the damage that can be done when led by every whim of technology that is introduced. Let us not cheapen our existence by no longer being able to think.
Welcome To The Classroom 