I think two other points that I want to make on this, because I think we want more people to use these tools because we want to make them clear and we want these tools to be more accountable. , the people who make these tools, and that’s continuing the teaching and learning relationships that I think all your guests have been talking about, really address those relationships because of that. can also foster or diminish equality and access to educational opportunities. And the last thing is that we want, and I think I say that as an educational community, but also as an educated community, we want people to ask better questions. We want students to really dig into their questions. We want teachers to dig deep. And I think only good things can come from people who ask better questions, more questions. And I think that’s what, both from an ethical perspective on who has access, and from the way we use these tools, that’s what’s going to help us, I think, shape and provoke effective ways.
Celeste Headlee: Yes. I wonder, Pia, because maybe the solution is to use the Salcon methods, Salcon of Khan Academy where you give lectures at home and do your homework in class. Jeff emailed us, “Maybe the English teacher should give all the essays in class. I’ve long hated the idea of assigning homework. It’s unnecessary.” Do you think something like ChatGPT will reopen the longstanding debate about homework?
Pia Ceres: Oh sure. I think it’s definitely going to explode our notions of what is the best use of time in the classroom and what is the best use of study time outside of the classroom? So I think, going back to what Daniel said earlier, what I’ve seen teachers experiment with is more than just changing the form of multimodal learning that is better use of time in the classroom. the class writes or demonstrates learning in ways other than writing, dialogue, or drawing about something they read in class. So I definitely think there’s more room for creativity there.
Celeste Headlee: Pia, we have about 30 seconds left, but I wonder, do you expect reporters and journalists to start using ChatGPT to write articles when they get to the deadline?
Pia Ceres: Don’t tell my editor anything about this. No I’m joking.
Celeste Headlee: I’m not telling you. I just tell people.
Pia Ceres: I think that’s something that every newsroom will have to navigate for themselves. We are starting conversations at WIRED about it, but I think that remains to be seen and will be developed by each newsroom.
Celeste Headlee: Attractive. Those are Pia Ceres, WIRED senior digital producer, and Lalitha Vasudevan, a professor of technology and education at Columbia Teachers College. She is also the Vice Dean of the university’s Department of Digital Innovation. Pia and Lalitha, thank you so much for joining us today, Norma tweeted, “I’m the founding director of the Hispanic STEM Parents Association and the Parents Association dedicated to promoting STEM and computer science for Hispanic students in Northern Virginia. I would recommend using ChatGPT to learn English.” We continue this series, Know It All, 1A and WIRED’s Guide to AI, tomorrow with the conversation about artificial intelligence and healthcare. And WIRED has a newsletter if you want to learn more about how technology is changing our lives. It is called Fast forward and discover the latest advantages in AI and other technologies. You can subscribe at WIRED.com/newsletter. Today’s producers are Chris Remington and Avery Jessa Chapnick. This program comes to you from WAMU, part of the American University in Washington, distributed by NPR. I’m Celeste Headlee. We will talk sooner. This is 1A.
Lauren Goode: Hi, it’s Lauren again. Thanks for listening to this special program. If you’d like to hear more of these conversations, you can find the full Know All series at the1a.org/series. It’s one of one, so it’s the1a.org/series. Thanks to WAMU and NPR for using this volume. We will be back to our usual program next week. Until then, goodbye.
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