ChatGPT is an ally, not an enemy

It is impossible to escape the influence that artificial intelligence (AI), also known as ChatGPT, has on education, as it has rapidly entered our lives. At Explorer, we work to transform the perceived risks into opportunities that enhance the learning process.

Is WhatsApp nothing more than messages and noise? At Explorer, we integrate it as a learning tool, and now this application is an integral part of our program. Are the concerns and interests of Generation Z obstacles in education? By analyzing them, we turn them into opportunities that allow us to adapt to the needs of the participants, who primarily belong to this generation, without losing our objective. Now, artificial intelligence emerges in the form of images and text generated without human involvement. Once again, at Explorer, we address the possibilities it brings to educational processes.

The digital universe is constantly evolving, and we cannot ignore it, especially when we can make it work in our favor. Let’s take the metaverse as an example, which seems almost obsolete considering how quickly new AI possibilities develop. When the first edition of Explorer began in January 2023, we decided to celebrate with a party in a virtual space where participants could meet, chat with each other, and ask questions to the team. It was a complete success. In fact, we closed these 12 weeks of the program with another similar event, where we announced the projects selected for the Explorer Trip.

We believe that artificial intelligence will serve us to add more benefits to entrepreneurship education in these early stages. However, before that, we must understand the changes it entails and how to apply them. One of the most relevant changes is the possibility for each participant in Explorer to “customize” the curriculum, adapting it, if necessary, to a more understandable or accessible language (although we have success stories in previous program editions where participants have advanced their projects without needing such assistance).

We can quickly identify the most challenging areas and provide an effective response with a strategy that maintains motivation during those moments. If many participants struggle with the same task or assignment, artificial intelligence can identify specific concepts or information they are not understanding, giving us the opportunity to improve the materials or the method. This is just one of the “Five Potential Benefits of AI in Education” highlighted by Matthew Lynch. We take note of the other four.

• Individualization: AI systems easily adapt to the learning needs of each individual and can provide guidance based on their strengths and weaknesses.
• Tutoring: Artificial intelligence can calibrate each person’s learning style and pre-existing knowledge to offer personalized support and guidance.
• Grading: We are not referring to correcting tests, but to collecting data on each individual’s performance and even scoring assignments that require writing (some high school teachers already use ChatGPT for this purpose). It is worth noting that, as we mentioned when discussing validation, at Explorer, we believe that grading tasks can be even counterproductive at such early stages of entrepreneurship. However, enriching the AI with community contributions and using it to provide asynchronous feedback can be an interesting approach that leads us directly to the fourth point.
• Comments: Participants who feel uncomfortable “asking others for their opinions due to fear of criticism” can start by seeking input from AI, making the necessary mistakes to learn and receiving the necessary feedback to improve. These are Lynch’s exact words in quotation marks, and once again, we emphasize that at Explorer, we advocate for peer learning and embracing mistakes as part of the entrepreneurial journey. Can artificial intelligence provide support and encouragement in the same way as someone who is going through similar training processes, experiencing similar frustrations and aspirations? We believe that the community and communication among participants are irreplaceable. However, it is undeniable that ChatGPT, to name the bot we all think of, can be used to moderate these groups and make suggestions or offer a perspective that may not have been considered before.

What if participants ask ChatGPT to do all the work? Let’s be honest: if this possibility occurred to us, it is evident that it has occurred to the Explorers as well, and they have indeed explored it, sometimes with successful outcomes. So, should we prohibit ChatGPT from being used to complete assignments (as if methods to “facilitate the task” had never existed)? In our opinion, no. Once again, integration is the key: some American schools have conducted experiments by asking their students to use this tool to outline a project, which they subsequently develop. The results have been promising because the students have demonstrated a better understanding of the subject matter. By carefully considering the arguments and reviewing their work if it did not align with their intentions, they gained a deeper comprehension of what they were addressing.

The same outcome applies to entrepreneurship; any method that forces a person to concentrate on their work and seek different perspectives leads to improved learning. Of course, individuals must be able to distinguish valid information from inaccurate or biased data. Let us remember that ChatGPT is not infallible and does not always provide correct answers, as it also relies on erroneous, biased, or imprecise data. However, even this can work in our favor, as it gives us the opportunity to teach Explorers how to research and differentiate between what is true and what is biased information. Ultimately, the definitive confirmation of their correct steps will come from validating their ideas in the real market, which is something we encourage and emphasize throughout the Explorer program. As explained here, it is the best feedback they can receive.

Not to mention the possibilities that AI opens up regarding the projects themselves. We firmly believe that many entrepreneurs will apply AI to their ideas. Improving the quality of education directly contributes to the achievement of SDG 4, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that projects presented to Explorer must align with. How AI will be used to bridge the technological gap poses an interesting challenge, and we are part of it.

*This post has been written without the help of ChatGPT or any other type of AI🙂.

Sources:

https://acerforeducation.acer.com/education-trends/education-technology/how-artificial-intelligence-can-impact-on-the-schools-of-tomorrow/
 https://es.unesco.org/themes/tic-educacion/inteligencia-artificial https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/artificial-intelligence-education/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/technology/chatgpt-schools-teachers.html

Image of Mohamed Nohassi in Unsplash.