AI in the Classroom

We encourage you to approach generative AI tools with a critical lens before structuring course assignments with these tools. Some students may be unaware of these tools and what they can do, and others may only be thinking about how they can benefit from the tool. 

Use the Critical Questions about Technology from the Civics of Technology to help guide your discussion.

Before assigning students to work on projects involving generative AI, make sure to review the privacy policy of the tool(s) you've selected. Also consider what benefit you may be providing the developer by requiring your students to conduct free labor to improve the tool's algorithm.

Except where otherwise cited, the information below is from "ChatGPT & Education" by Torrey Trust, Ph.D., and is licensed under CC BY NC 4.0.

ChatGPT Privacy Policy

OpenAI (the company that designed ChatGPT) collects a lot of data from ChatGPT users. 

• The privacy policy states that this data can be shared with third-party vendors, law enforcement, affiliates, and other users.

• This tool should not be used by children under 13 (data collection from children under 13 violates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule - COPPA).

• While you can request to have your ChatGPT account deleted, the prompts that you input into ChatGPT cannot be deleted. If you, or your students, were to ask ChatGPT about sensitive or controversial topics, this data cannot be removed. 

TIP: Before asking your students to use ChatGPT (if you plan to do so), please read over the privacy policy with them and allow them to opt out if they do not feel comfortable having their data collected and shared as outlined in the policy.

ChatGPT & Free Labor

Asking students to use ChatGPT provides free labor to OpenAI. ChatGPT is in its infancy and has been released as a free research preview (OpenAI, 2022). It will continue to become a more intelligent form of artificial intelligence… with the help of users who provide feedback to the responses it generates. 

Consider: Do you really want to ask your students to help train an AI tool as part of their education? 

Screenshot of ChatGPT FAQ

A blog post from Autumm Caines (2022), Instructional Designer at the University of Michigan – Dearborn, outlines a few tips to mitigate this free labor, including:

• Not asking students to create ChatGPT accounts and instead doing instructor demos;
• Encouraging students to use burner email accounts (to reduce personal data collection) if they choose to use the tool;
• Using one shared class login.

Caines includes some interesting thoughts on students working themselves out of future jobs by using ChatGPT. We currently cannot find research to support this.

References

Caines, A. (2022, December 29). ChatGPT and good intentions in higher ed. Is a Liminal Space. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from http://autumm.edtech.fm/2022/12/29/chatgpt-and-good-intentions-in-higher-ed/

Civics of Technology. (n.d.) Civics of Technology Curriculum. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from https://www.civicsoftechnology.org/curriculum

OpenAI. (2022, December). ChatGPT FAQ. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6783457-chatgpt-faq

Trust, T. (2023). ChatGPT & education [Google Slides]. Retrieved on January 6, 2023, from https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Vo9w4ftPx-rizdWyaYoB-pQ3DzK1n325OgDgXsnt0X0/edit?usp=sharing