Features

AI in education: Possibilities and pitfalls

AI has the potential to address some of the biggest challenges in education, particularly in developing economies.

01 February 2024

Tebogo Moleta, Think Tank.

A few years after completing my Honour’s degree, I got the chance to go back to university to study further. I worked as a tutor at the time and remember feeling frustrated at just how much the students cut corners. I’m sure I did the same during my undergrad, but now considered a “mature” student – I was 25 at the time – I couldn’t believe how unwilling they were to learn. Obviously, there were the exceptions, but the majority never read what you asked them to. And they showed up unprepared, thinking that they could fumble their way through sessions without you noticing that they had no clue what was going on.

Given this experience, when OpenAI’s ChatGPT was passing the bar exam and various medical licensing tests, my first thought was that this large language tool would undoubtedly be a hit among apathetic students who wanted to appear that they’d put the work in, but hadn’t. But it’s not all bad.

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