ChatGPT: What is this new buzzword, and how it helps in academics

ChatGPT is an effective technology that has the power to change how we teach and learn thoroughly. It's crucial for teachers to carefully assess how ChatGPT might be used to help understand and ensure that it ties in with overall teaching aims

By Dr Mayank Mathur

Published: Jan 16, 2023 12:21:58 PM IST

Updated: Jan 16, 2023 12:30:10 PM IST

ChatGPT is still in the research and feedback-gathering stage, usage is now available to everyone without charge Image: Shutterstock

OpenAI introduced the ChatGPT language learning AI model. With the help of ChatGPT, you can speak with a chatbot in a fashion comparable to that of a human being while also doing a lot more, thanks to AI-powered natural language processing tools. The language model can answer your questions and assist you in tasks like composing emails, essays, and computer code. As ChatGPT is still in the research and feedback-gathering stage, usage is now available to everyone without charge. Thanks to its extensive capabilities, ChatGPT has revolutionised the internet.

What is ChatGPT

Artificial intelligence-powered ChatGPT is a chatbot that may be used to pose questions. The answers provided by this chatbot are intended to be technical and free of jargon. It is an NLP model that uses a sizable corpus of conversational data. It can provide responses that sound like human speech, enabling natural dialogue between the user and the virtual assistant.

How does it work?

ChatGPT combines a neural network architecture and unsupervised learning to generate responses, in contrast to typical NLP models that rely on explicitly created rules and labelled data. This makes it a valuable tool for managing various conversational activities because it can learn to develop responses without being explicitly instructed on the appropriate response.

A deep learning architecture known as a multi-layer transformer network, which has demonstrated success in understanding natural language, is used by ChatGPT to respond. An input sentence is given to the model, which then analyses it using its internal knowledge to provide a response that is pertinent to the input.

The capacity of ChatGPT to produce responses appropriate for the conversation's context is one of its key advantages. This indicates that the model can comprehend the conversation's flow and produce responses that flow naturally with what has already been said. Due to the need for a conversational model to manage a variety of queries and follow-up questions without losing sight of the context, it is ideal for tasks like customer support.

ChatGPT can perform a wide range of NLP tasks and produce responses, including sentiment analysis, language translation, and text summarization. Due to this, it is a flexible tool with many potential uses.

GPT-3 Technology

Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3) is the technology's third iteration, starting with the basics. This means that it uses algorithms that have already been trained and given all the data necessary to complete the task at hand to generate text. They have been given access to about 570 GB of text data mined from the internet using the CommonCrawl dataset, coupled with additional texts chosen by OpenAI.

If you asked it a question, you would anticipate an answer that would be the most accurate response. You will receive an overview or a poem if you ask it to perform a task like producing a summary or a poem. GPT-3 can construct anything with a language structure, including questions, essays, summaries of lengthy books, language translations, memos, and even computer code.

Using a plugin for the software program Figma, which is frequently used for app creation, one online demonstration demonstrates how to create an app that resembles the Instagram application in terms of appearance and functionality. Of course, this is quite novel, and if it turns out to be helpful and valuable in the long run, it might have significant ramifications for how software and apps are developed.

Also read: AI tokens experience a surge following ChatGPT's hype, AGIX leads the way

Uses of ChatGPT in academics

Fundamentally, ChatGPT is a language model that can produce text that sounds like human speech in a conversational setting. This implies that it can be used to develop chatbots that converse with students naturally and humanly in the academic world. This gives teachers a plethora of options for utilising ChatGPT to supplement instruction.

ChatGPT could be utilised as a tool for online tutoring. Imagine being able to help your pupils one-on-one at any time, in any location in the world. Now possible, thanks to ChatGPT. The chatbot can assist students in working through complex ideas step-by-step, responding to inquiries, and offering comments. It can help students who have trouble grasping the subject matter or require further assistance.

ChatGPT could also be used as an automated grading tool. It takes a lot of time to grade assignments, especially for teachers who have to grade many papers. This burden can be lessened using ChatGPT by automating the grading procedure. By examining the text and offering input on grammar, spelling, and organisation the chatbot may, for instance, grade essays. Additionally, it might be used to score multiple-choice exams by automatically assessing the student's responses.

However, ChatGPT is beneficial for more than simply one-on-one conversations and grading papers. It can also be used to design personalised, adaptive educational games and tests tailored to each student's needs and learning preferences. It can be a good approach for students to learn and apply new ideas while also assisting teachers in conducting more detailed and exciting assessments of their student's progress.

ChatGPT might also be used as a tool for virtual office hours. Because of their hectic schedules, many students might not be able to see their lecturers in person during regular office hours. By enabling students to ask questions and receive assistance outside of class, ChatGPT can help close this gap. Students who reside in various time zones or have other obligations that make it challenging to meet with their lecturers in person may find ChatGPT very helpful.

Limitations of ChatGPT

The size and complexity of ChatGPT's model, which makes it resource-intensive to execute, is one of its drawbacks. Due to this, it may be challenging to use in real-time applications like chatbots where prompt responses may be required.

As a generative model, ChatGPT also has the drawback that it can't always give precise responses to particular queries. The generated responses could occasionally be meaningless or irrelevant, making it challenging to employ in specific applications.

Like any NLP model, ChatGPT has limitations related to the calibre and volume of the training data. A representative and diverse dataset was not used to train the model; in that instance, it might not produce reliable answers to all the queries.

ChatGPT is an effective technology that has the power to change how we teach and learn thoroughly. It's crucial for you as a teacher to carefully assess how ChatGPT might be utilised to help understand and ensure that it ties in with your overall teaching aims. ChatGPT can be a practical addition to your teaching toolkit with a bit of imagination and originality.

Mayank Mathur is the Academic Director at The ISB Institute of Data Science(IIDS) and has 20-plus years of experience in the Corporate and Academic fields.