Instead of a word of the day, I thought I’d share what’s been on my mind and bothering me for a while…
I admit to not knowing much at all about machine learning. As someone with a Minor in Creative Writing, it seems like a travesty to rely on an inanimate computer program to interpret what my brain and my heart might think.
I chatted (talked human to human) with someone who used to work for a large company and they wanted her to use AI to create documents, mainly because it would save them money. When she pushed back and said that she didn’t feel comfortable with that decision and that she was an expert in this particular field, she was terminated. True story. She got a lucrative settlement, but still…the ramifications are kind of scary, don’t you agree?
Funnily enough, I used AI to query “what is Chat GPT?” Here’s what this inanimate, nonhuman responded:
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI that generates human-like text, code, and images in response to user prompts. Released on November 30, 2022, it uses large language models based on the generative pre-trained transformer architecture and runs on a freemium model.
What Does GPT Mean?
- Generative: The model creates new content, such as text, answers, or code.
- Pre-trained: It learned patterns from a massive dataset of books, articles, and websites before its public launch.
- Transformer: It uses a deep learning neural network to understand the context and flow of conversation.
Key Capabilities
- Conversational Chat: Answers questions, solves math problems, and remembers the context of a dialogue.
- Writing and Editing: Drafts emails, essays, resumes, and creative stories.
- Coding: Writes, debugs, and explains code in multiple programming languages.
- Multimodal Tools: Handles text, voice conversations, web searches, and image generation.
I know that Professor Angel Boy really really despises AI, and in general, teachers generally view AI-generated content with deep concern, fearing it hurts critical thinking and academic honesty, though opinions range from total bans to cautious integration. Most faculty focus heavily on detection, assignment redesign, and clear syllabus policies. I think that it’s a clear form of cheating to use AI and not spend hours reading books, researching, and using their own brains to THINK.
- Loss of Skills: Over 90% of faculty worry that relying on AI reduces student critical thinking, writing ability, and deep engagement with course material.
- Hallucinations & Accuracy: Professors note that AI tools frequently invent fake sources, facts, and citations, turning research into a verification trap.
- Cheating & Equity: Most instructors see a rise in unpermitted shortcuts, making it hard to grade who actually did the intellectual work.
- Writing Style & Anomalies: Professors look for sudden shifts in tone, overly generic or formulaic structures, unusual formatting, and a lack of personal voice.
- Draft & Version History: Instructors check Google Docs or version logs to see if a paper was written incrementally or pasted in all at once.
- Oral Interrogations: When suspicious, many professors skip faulty AI detectors and simply ask the student to explain their paper or sources out loud.
- Skepticism of Detectors: Many faculty know that tools like Turnitin or Copyleaks have false positives—especially for non-native English speakers—and hesitate to rely on them alone.
Don’t get me started on ChatBot…a computer program that simulates human conversation through text or voice. It helps users find information, answer questions, or complete tasks automatically.
Love him or hate him, but Bill Gates is also concerned about artificial intelligence because it is advancing at an unprecedented rate and threatens massive job displacement, security risks, and social upheaval without proper preparation or government plans.
Even Melinda Gates, whom I do respect, says she’s nervous about AI and warns that a lack of women and diverse voices in tech risks “baking bias” into AI systems.
At the end of the day, all of this non-human interaction makes me sad and I fear for the next generations. We need to think for ourselves, not rely on anyone or anything else.
Rant over.
Great rant. Thinking for ourselves and not relying on the computer stuff is key to keeping our civilization and individuality alive and well.
LikeLike