89% College Students Using ChatGPT

Oh, yes!. definitely something wrong! And I think I know what it might be.

If it looks like ChatGPT...reads like ChatGPT ... then guess what probably wrote it. I wouldn't put it past any publication (where people write to deadlines) to make use of AI -and occasionally end up publishing erroneous trash.

I know someone who has had a lucrative side-gig for years, writing for internet clients. This person told me recently that all but the most specialized stuff had pretty well dried up. Done by India or AI now. There's some work correcting the atrocious results of both, but nah - he's not interested.

 

Already?!

How sad. Sometimes Google results are already filled with nonsense.

 

I'd have to say usually, not just "sometimes".

 

Going back to the theme of plausible but not correct, ChatGPT has repeatedly cited sources that don't exist:

• https://economistwritingeveryday.com/2023/01/21/chatgpt-cites-economics-papers-that-do-not-exist/ (Economics)
• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33841672 (Mathematics)
• https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/105pib0/chatgpt_gives_me_references_i_cant_find_back/ (Psychology)

This phenomenon is called an AI hallucination because it will respond authoritatively, for example providing an abstract for the made-up article, even though it doesn't really exist.

 

I think a lot of the nonsense with AI will probably shake out in a few years, when new versions work better. We're not even in the Model T stage yet. In 2040, we'll be firing up McLarens, so to speak. Maybe I'll get an awesome one for my 97th birthday, then. AI, that is, not McLaren - I can't have everything.

 

I object to the term "AI hallucination." Euphemistic. BS should be clearly labelled as such. I'm calling it in. "Hello...Consumer Protection?"

 

I was curious about this. I don’t think it is necessarily cheating. Maybe it depends on “how” you use it.

I am working on a project. I pretty much know where I am going with it, but just want to find more resources and google and the library aren’t getting me what I need. So I decided to ask ChatGPT. I asked the questions I am looking to confirm with more sources.

So, in general, I asked my question…. It gave feedback…. I asked for a link… the link didn’t work…. I looked up the report it mentioned but didn’t find the stats it gave me. So I didn’t use that. I asked for a different link. It gave me something completely different. I looked at the link, confirmed the information I hoped to find was indeed there, and used the resource. I didn’t spit back the text it gave me. It felt more like the interaction I had on chat with the school librarian. (Oohhh… maybe it was an AI librarian!)

It can write essays….. and that would be cheating…. I tested it out and asked it to write an essay about NLP with references. (I am not taking any classes related to NLP. It was just to see how it would look). It gave me seven paragraphs and two references. I can not speak to its accuracy.

But it seems like it can be a lot like a regular research chat.

Heck, maybe if you are bored and lonely it can keep you company. LOL

 

That could work! Let's see... I'll start by asking the AI "What are you wearing?"