Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Tageducation

the-little-kid-is-sitting-alone-on-the-sofa-and-looking-in-his-phone-stockpack-adobe-stock
The little kid is sitting alone on the sofa and looking in his phone

Moving Life Online is Making Us Depressed

The phone-based childhood robs kids developmentally, says Jonathan Haidt
The data seems to point essentially to one thing: the shift to living our lives online. Read More ›
webinar-education-online-concept-video-tutorial-stockpack-adobe-stock
webinar, education online concept, video tutorial

Online Training: Real Education or Going Through the Motions?

Not all online trainings are bad. But many are procedural and pointless.
In some cases, I was convinced that the goal of the training was to pretend to convey information while not actually doing so.  Read More ›
graduation-stockpack-adobe-stock
graduation

Artificially Smart: Artificial Intelligence and Higher Education

Understanding needs to remain the metric by which students are evaluated

Artificial Intelligence tools like Copilot and ChatGPT can increase productivity. They speed up workflows and can be used to automate freeing people to spend their time on creative tasks. Advances in artificial intelligence technologies had a significant impact on the economy in 2023. Fortune magazine attributes AI-related economic growth as having helped “saved the economy” because growth in this sector offset disappointing returns in other sectors.  But with great power comes great responsibility. The tools of AI allow freshman college students to do what a year ago would have required a decade of professional experience. Educational institutions must carefully consider where and how these tools can be used without undermining the quality of education. Otherwise, overreliance on artificial intelligence will Read More ›

group-of-students-using-laptops-and-other-devices-in-classroom-stockpack-adobe-stock
Group of students using laptops and other devices in classroom.

The Kids Aren’t Taking Notes

Colleges have become too dependent on digital methods of learning and communication.
Visit a typical classroom in the United States and you’re bound to see just about every student “taking notes” behind a computer screen as the professor lectures at the helm. Read More ›
hand-of-businessman-using-smartphone-chatting-with-chat-bot-chat-with-ai-or-artificial-intelligence-technology-stockpack-adobe-stock
Hand of businessman using smartphone chatting with chat bot,  Chat with AI or Artificial Intelligence technology.

ChatGPT is Losing Momentum

Is the "hype curve" starting to flatten out?

ChatGPT’s traffic has declined for the third month in a row, according to Reuters. The Large Language Model (LLM) AI tool took the world by storm in November of 2022 when it was released by OpenAI, posing questions of academic integrity, and urging a host of tech giants to incorporate LLMs into their own platforms and search engines. Anna Tong writes, Worldwide desktop and mobile website visits to the ChatGPT website decreased by 3.2% to 1.43 billion in August, following approximately 10% drops from each of the previous two months. The amount of time visitors spent on the website has also been declining monthly since March, from an average of 8.7 minutes on site to 7 minutes on site in Read More ›

group-of-college-students-studying-in-the-school-library-a-girl-and-a-boy-are-using-a-laptop-and-connecting-to-internet-stockpack-adobe-stock
Group of college students studying in the school library, a girl and a boy are using a laptop and connecting to internet

Teachers Gear Up for a New Year – and ChatGPT

Due to ChatGPT's popularity, many schools are seeking ways to integrate the technology into their learning environments.

GPT-3, released by OpenAI in November, swiftly undermined the integrity of many a student’s academic work. Professors across disciplines have had to contend with how to discern machine vs. human-generated work. Now, with a new school year underway, that challenge remains. Due to ChatGPT’s popularity, many schools are seeking ways to integrate the technology into their learning environments. But the question of how to do this remains murky. Bloomberg reports, But professors and administrators seeking to integrate generative AI into their curriculums are left with a big question: How? They need to find the right middle ground, said Steve Weber, vice provost of undergraduate curriculum and education at Drexel University. Educators can’t completely prohibit use of the tool and neglect to teach it, but Read More ›

cosmetic-laboratory-research-and-development-science-bio-skincare-cream-serum-product-with-leaves-natural-organic-beauty-cosmetics-concept-cosmetology-stockpack-adobe-stock
cosmetic laboratory research and development . science bio skincare cream serum product with leaves. natural organic beauty cosmetics concept. cosmetology.

Scientists Have Been Recommending Changes to Science Education for Decades

The modern education system seems designed to squelch curiosity

Gary Smith describes the problems with today’s science in his new book Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science. He recounts endless examples of disinformation, data torture, and data mining, much of which we already knew. Taken together, however, and as I described in this review, they are mind-blowing. He argues that many of these problems come from things scientists do such as p-hacking during statistical analysis, too little emphasis on “impact” in statistical analyses, outright data falsification, and the creation of the Internet, which can be a huge disinformation machine in addition to a valuable resource. In the last chapter, he also offers some solutions such as ending the artificial thresholds for p-values such as 0.05, requiring Read More ›

education
education

More Than Cogs in an AI Machine

Perhaps it isn't only AI which poses a challenge, but the mainstream model of education

Education seems especially vulnerable to ChatGPT. Universities now have to grapple with AI plagiarism, and even teachers and administrators are being tempted to use the Large Language Model to generate syllabi and even condolence emails in the wake of tragedies. Leah Libresco Sargeant, author of Building the Benedict Option and Arriving at Amen, wrote a piece on this issue at First Things last week. She goes past simply the struggle schools have in detecting ChatGPT’s presence, but also why it’s so easy to use AI generated language in school settings. Many educational institutions, like AI, promote the appearance of productivity but lack real value. She writes, If schools are primarily dedicated to producing workers, rather than holistic human beings steeped Read More ›

students-making-notes-stockpack-adobe-stock
Students making notes

Learning to Communicate

Why writing skills are so important, especially in today's artificial world

Educators have been shaken by fears that students will use ChatGTP and other large language models (LLMs) to answer questions and write essays. LLMs are indeed astonishing good at finding facts and generating coherent essays — although the alleged facts are sometimes false and the essays are sometimes tedious BS supported by fake references. I am more optimistic than most. I am hopeful that LLMs will be a catalyst for a widespread discussion of our educational goals. What might students learn in schools that will be useful long after they graduate? There are many worthy goals, but critical thinking and communication skills should be high on any list. I’ve written elsewhere about how critical thinking abilities are important for students Read More ›

a-holographic-head-representing-modern-technology-ai-floats-in-a-classroom-setting-created-with-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
A holographic head representing modern technology / ai floats in a classroom setting. Created with generative ai

Text Generators, Education, and Critical Thinking: an Update

The fundamental problem remains that, not knowing what words mean, AI has no critical thinking abilities

This past October, I wrote that educational testing was being shaken by the astonishing ability of GPT-3 and other large language models (LLMs) to answer test questions and write articulate essays. I argued that, while LLMs might mimic human conversation, they do not know what words mean. They consequently excel at rote memorization and BS conversation but struggle mightily with assignments that are intended to help students develop their critical thinking abilities, such as Lacking any understanding of semantics, LLMs can do none of this. To illustrate, I asked GPT-3 two questions from a midterm examination I had recently given in an introductory statistics class. Both questions tested students critical thinking skills and GPT-3 bombed both questions. I was hopeful Read More ›

classroom setting
Male speaker giving presentation in hall at university workshop. Audience or conference hall. Rear view of unrecognized participants in audience. Scientific conference event, training. Education

Will ChatGPT End Up Improving Higher Education?

Oral exams are an endangered species in higher education today, but they are a powerful tool for evaluating knowledge in a world of AI

This article was written by Peter Jacobsen and was reposted from MercatorNet under a Creative Commons License. A new artificial intelligence (AI) system called ChatGPT has been released to the public, and many have been shocked to see the extent of its abilities. ChatGPT can accomplish many tasks. For example, it can write poems about any topic, give book recommendations, summarize specific chapters of books, and create workout routines. If you’re asking whether the AI just Google-searches for responses, the answer is no. If you try to find the source of ChatGPT’s responses, you’ll find they are fresh writing. This brings us to the most impactful thing ChatGPT can do when it comes to my fellow academics and me. ChatGPT can write Read More ›

living forever
Sci-fi fantasy futuristic background art scifi artwork tech technology Architecture digital illustration art wallpaper future concept dystopia cyberpunk

Humans Have Limits. Transhumanists Want to Overcome Them

The prophetic words of C.S. Lewis still strike home today

This article originally appeared as a blog post at Salvo on May 13th, 2022. C.S. Lewis wrote an apt and prophetic line in his book The Abolition of Man that feels even more prescient today: “There is something which unites magic and applied science while separating both from the wisdom of earlier ages. For the wise men of old the cardinal problem had been how to conform the soul to reality, and the solution had been knowledge, self-discipline, and virtue. For magic and applied science alike the problem is how to subdue reality to the wishes of men.” I think it’s safe to say that today, the world’s elites in government, tech, media, and education embody precisely the opposite of Lewis’s understanding Read More ›

imagination
Book of Wonders: A Magical Book who makes dreams come true - Digital Art Design, unique illustration concept | Generative AI

What Can’t A.I. Do? Quite a Lot, Actually

NYT columnist David Brooks makes a list of uniquely human skills that students should develop in college

In an increasingly artificial world, how are we to remain human? New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote an opinion article this week seeking to answer that question. Brooks notes some of the benefits of “machine learning,” but also lists some of the characteristics artificial intelligence will forever fail to embody. “A.I. will probably give us fantastic tools that will help us outsource a lot of our current mental work,” he writes. “At the same time, A.I. will force us humans to double down on those talents and skills that only humans possess.” Uniquely Human Traits What are some of these “talents and skills” that people should intentionally develop in the age of A.I.? Brooks says an incoming college student Read More ›

plato-fresco-at-greek-orthodox-church-stockpack-adobe-stock
Plato, fresco at Greek Orthodox Church

What Students Lose by Embracing Easy Tech Like ChatGPT

AI systems not only pose a problem for teachers, but will compromise intellectual excellence and moral virtue

We’ve heard a lot about ChatGPT and its wonders and gaping pitfalls. Among the dangers it poses is academic cheating and corner-cutting. It’s no secret that the new bot makes Comp 1 a whole lot easier for a typical incoming freshman. Some universities and schools are banning the AI system outright. Teachers wonder how they will be able to discern plagiarism. Other voices chide the alarmists and call for students and teachers to use ChatGPT as a classroom aid.   But one area that has gone a bit underdiscussed in the conversation is ethics. Dr. Anthony Bradley of The King’s College tweeted this a few days ago, Students are writing papers using AI. Colleges are scrambling to combat it. We Read More ›

top-mark-on-essay-stockpack-adobe-stock
Top mark on essay

Students Depend on ChatGPT for Final Exams

The new bot will only get better from here, but it won’t help students become better thinkers

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s new artificial intelligence chatbot, has made headlines for over a month now, and for good reason. It’s an advanced bot designed to problem solve. It can “converse” with people on a range of topics. A problem for us to solve now is how to deal with ChatGPT’s invasion into the sphere of education. Students report using ChatGPT on final exams and papers according to a recent write-up from The College Fix. One College of Staten Island student used the bot on both final exams and “got As on both.” He commented that “half the kids in my class used it.” The student also noted that he used the chatbot to complete a multiple-choice exam, on which he got Read More ›

industry-40-concept-man-is-holding-product-and-teaching-robot-arm-the-points-with-control-panel-teach-pendant-on-smart-factory-production-line-background-selective-focus-stockpack-adobe-stock
industry 4.0 concept: Man is holding product and teaching robot arm the points with control panel ( teach pendant ) on smart factory production line background. Selective Focus.

Preparing Students to Work in an Artificial Intelligence World

Technology innovations are rapidly changing the nature of work. Advancements in artificial intelligence are especially transforming the workforce landscape at an accelerating rate. Jobs of tomorrow will not resemble those of decades past, nor even those of today. Read More ›
gold-bitcoin-on-dark-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Gold bitcoin on dark background

COSM Speaker Peter Thiel: The Failures and “Self-Hatred” of Big Tech

Listen to maverick entrepreneur Peter Thiel’s talk from last year’s COSM conference. Thiel discusses his views of artificial intelligence, Big Tech’s monopoly, China, and the future of technology with legendary tech guru George Gilder. You can register now to hear Peter Thiel and George Gilder at this year’s COSM conference in November. Show Notes 00:50 | Introducing Peter Thiel 01:12 Read More ›

group-of-school-kids-raising-hands-in-classroom-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
group of school kids raising hands in classroom

Practicing the Basics: Teaching Math Facts in the Classroom

How to help students make deeper connections within mathematics with creative games.

Many people learn to hate math early on. One of the places where people learn to hate math first is in high-stakes speed testing for math facts. This has caused quite a bit of angst in mathematics education for people on both sides of this issue. On the one hand, some have advocated for getting rid of math facts memorization altogether. On the other hand, others have doubled-down, saying that we need speed tests in order to make sure that the cognitive load of arithmetic is limited for later mathematics work. While I fall more into the latter camp than the former, I do think that a more balanced approach to mathematics education may help students in the long run.  Read More ›

schoolchildren-writing-on-chalkboard-in-classroom-during-math-lesson-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Schoolchildren writing on chalkboard in classroom during math lesson

Antiracism In Math Promotes Racism and Bad Math

If you are scratching your head over how math might be racist, you are not alone

Recently, a conglomeration of California education associations got together to work on a series of resources for mathematics teachers. The goal? Eliminate racism in mathematics classes by promoting Equitable Math. If you are struggling to imagine how mathematics could be racist, you are not alone. I am certain there exist racist teachers, and probably teachers who exhibit racist expectations of their students. I would support any reasonable action to get rid of or reform such teachers. But that is not the primary goal of these resources. The website, equitablemath.org, instead believes that the very way that mathematics is commonly taught is not just racist, but is specifically white supremacist. While I consider myself to be somewhat of a mathematics reformer Read More ›

sunset-on-a-yurt-in-the-grassland-of-mongolia-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
sunset on a yurt , in the grassland of Mongolia

High-Tech Suppression of China’s Mongol Region Provokes Protests

But Mongolian protesters against Chinese-dominated schools are threatened with loss of social credit, which means no jobs or loans

China is removing the Mongolian language and culture from the curriculum and textbooks in Inner Mongolia (see outline map), an autonomous region in China. In August, leaked government documents showed that language and literature, civics, and history will be taught in Mandarin rather than Mongolian in schools where Mongolian is the primary language. Additionally, the new textbooks replace stories about historic Mongolian heroes with Chinese ballads and expunge a popular folk verse that expresses pride in the Mongolian culture and language. In response, many parents in Inner Mongolia (called Southern Mongolia locally) have been keeping their children from attending school on September 1. In retaliation, state authorities threaten their jobs and social credit status: Southern Mongolia has quickly become a Read More ›