The Chief Information Technology Officer at the University of Ghana Computing Systems (UGCS), Francis Boachie, has stated that the university management is looking at new ways to change online examinations on the back of students’ use of ChatGPT.
The adoption of ChatGPT by students has led to an increased rate of lackadaisical behavior towards their academic work due to the over reliance on artificial intelligence, which inevitably renders them less academically independent.
In an interview with UniversNews, Francis Boachie stated that ChatGPT is not only a major concern to the university management but to educational institutions across the world.
He also revealed that some institutions have developed anti-ChatGPT software, which then makes it possible for the university to do the same.
“It is a concern for all. I mean, it is not only the University of Ghana; all institutions across the globe are worried, and some other institutions have come up with anti-ChatGPT software. These anti-ChatGPT softwares scan to see whether theses or long essays submitted by students were generated by ChatGPT. I think the majority of faculty is aware. They are also looking at how they can begin to change the way they do exams and probably get assessments from students in a different way because ChatGPT has come to stay and there are many versions coming up, but like I said, other institutions around the globe are getting some other solutions to it.”
Francis Boachie, however, stated that ChatGPT has some benefits for students in the fields of computer science and engineering as it generates codes for programming. He however advised students to be more independent in their academic work as over-reliance on the artificial intelligence can cause them to learn nothing.
“We are in a technological era, and as such, we need to embrace ChatGPT, but we need to embrace it for the benefits that it brings and not for the wrong use. For example, students in the computer science and computer engineering fields can use ChatGPT to help them generate codes for programming, and in the same way, assuming you are trying to start an essay, ChatGPT could give you some ways to go about it, but do not use it as the ultimate tool to generate your work; otherwise, it means you are not learning anything.”
He further revealed that Turnitin is developing a new version that would be able to detect ChatGPT sources in assessments and essays.
“Turnitin has indicated that they are developing the new version to make sure that they are able to detect Chatgpt sources, and that is where I think we should get to.”
Story by: Alexander Kuuku Osei-Baidoo | univers.ug.edu.gh
