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When ChatGPT, an AI chatbot capable of creating plausible answers and even rhyming poetry, was released in November 2022, Elon Musk :听

鈥淚t鈥檚 a new world. Goodbye, homework.鈥�

This innovation has evoked a mix of fear, loathing, and awe, with the education sector being particularly unsettled.听

This is despite artificial intelligence tools having long been part of our lives. Whether playing chess against a bot, consulting virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa, or scrolling through social media feeds, we’ve been interacting with AI for years.听

But recently, AI has surged even more into our lives. ChatGPT , asking it to answer questions, write term papers, generate computer code, and more 鈥� all of which it does well. So well that within months of its release, a study found it was . Another Goldman Sachs report found 300 million jobs around the world stand to be impacted by AI and automation.听

Is society ready for AI? Historian and author of bestseller book 鈥淪apiens: A Brief History of Humankind鈥� doesn’t think so.

“It’s moving even faster than I expected,鈥� Harari says during his conversation with Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO podcast. 鈥淲hen I wrote in 2016, I didn’t think we would reach this point so quickly. The world is not ready for it.”

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of X, said that ChatGPT is “too woke” and its capabilities are “concerning.” Source: AFP

In education, the emergence of language models like ChatGPT similarly changed teaching as we know it. This advanced chatbot can make lessons more interactive, teach media literacy, generate personalised lesson plans, and help teachers save time on administrative tasks.听

Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, sees immense potential in AI. In a , he said: “I think we’re at the cusp of using AI for probably the biggest positive transformation that education has ever seen. We can give every student on the planet an artificially intelligent but amazing personal tutor.”

Khan鈥檚 optimistic view highlights AI’s potential to democratise education by providing individualised learning experiences tailored to each student’s unique needs. As AI evolves, collaboration among educators, policymakers, and technologists will be crucial to ensure its integration promotes equity, integrity, and quality in education.

Concerns over academic integrity

But not everyone is as hopeful as Khan. Following OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT in late November 2022, the chatbot faced immediate backlash, being criticised as a tool for cheating on assignments.

As many as and 80% for other tasks like communication and job searching, a 2024 survey by Intelligent.com found. Meanwhile, 69% use the tool for help with writing assignments, and 29% have ChatGPT to write entire essays.

The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest in the US, quickly blocked access to OpenAI鈥檚 website. By January, school districts across the English-speaking world had followed suit, from Washington and New York in the US to Queensland and New South Wales in Australia.听

Even leading UK universities, including Imperial College London and the 糖心vlog官网 of Cambridge, warned students against using ChatGPT to cheat.

This reaction was mirrored in Asia, for instance, in Japanese education. 鈥淢any classes require students to submit reports, and we worry that we won鈥檛 be able to spot the use of ChatGPT for assignments,鈥� says Kyushu 糖心vlog官网 Vice President .

This initial panic from the education sector was understandable.听

ChatGPT, accessible via a web app, can answer questions and generate coherent, well-structured essays on virtually any topic. Each response is unique, even when given the same prompt, and its authorship is nearly impossible to detect.听

鈥淧eople panicked,鈥� says director of teaching and learning excellence at the 糖心vlog官网 of Baltimore. 鈥淲e had the wrong conversations instead of thinking, 鈥極kay, it鈥檚 here. How can we use it?鈥欌��

Fast-forward to 2024, and educators recognise that ChatGPT is here to stay, with significantly, according to a survey by the EdWeek Research Centre.听

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said ChatGPT is particularly useful in three industries: coding, education, and health care, according to CNBC. Source: AFP

The Asian model

Asia’s best international schools are already embracing this change. Instead of fearing ChatGPT, they are exploring how to harness its potential to enhance learning. By integrating AI into their curricula, these schools are preparing students for a future where AI literacy is as essential as reading and writing.

The (AIS) includes AI tools like ChatGPT in its teaching methods. By encouraging its faculty to use these technologies, the school aims to gain valuable insights into their strategic application, enhancing the overall learning experience. For example, AIS students in the English as an Additional Language (EAL) programme use ChatGPT to provide immediate translation services, making language acquisition more accessible and efficient.听

In March, the International Baccalaureate (IB), the governing body of curricula for most of Hong Kong鈥檚 international schools, made a :听

鈥淭he IB believes that AI technology will become part of our everyday lives 鈥� like spell checkers, translation software, and calculators. We, therefore, need to adapt and transform our educational programmes and assessment practices so that students can use these new AI tools ethically and effectively. The IB will not ban the use of such software but will work with schools to help them support their students in using these tools ethically in line with our principles of academic integrity.鈥�

Some schools are hiring outside experts to teach both teachers and students about how to use AI tools. Source: AFP

At Westbourne College Singapore in River Valley, ChatGPT is viewed as a and the overall schooling experience.

鈥淲e are living in an age where innovations such as ChatGPT are going to disrupt how we do things, and we are going to have to learn how to adapt to such significant and rapid changes,” says Dr.Gerard Griffiths, Global Education Director of Westbourne College. 鈥淭he technology will not be used as a crutch but as a trampoline to launch standards to even greater heights.鈥�

While plagiarism is a major concern for educators, and with ChatGPT becoming more prevalent, there’s fear that even more students will use it to complete their assignments, potentially leading to the end of traditional homework and exams.

However, John Ridley, Director of Learning at Tanglin Trust School in Singapore, .听

鈥淭his is not the end of schools, homework, examinations or teachers,鈥� he says. 鈥淎t Tanglin, our philosophy is to embrace new technology where it supports our core purpose 鈥� the education of our young people 鈥� and AI is no different. There will be changes to the way we do things, but our aim will be for both teachers and students to be able to use AI tools confidently and responsibly in support of their learning.鈥�