{"id":151598,"date":"2023-03-08T15:28:57","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T14:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=151598"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:41","slug":"in-this-minor-students-have-to-write-an-essay-using-chatgpt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/03\/08\/in-this-minor-students-have-to-write-an-essay-using-chatgpt\/","title":{"rendered":"In this minor, students have to write an essay using ChatGPT"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students of the Artificial Intelligence and Societal Impact minor are tasked with using ChatGPT. They will use it to write an essay which they will then reflect on.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMigle Alonderyte<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

In the Artificial Intelligence and Societal Impact minor, students are required to write a report on an essay written by ChatGPT. \u201cIn this essay, they will need to ask themselves things such as: What should I ask the bot? What answer do I get? Is the information that I receive correct? What do I think of the writing style?\u201d, says Michele Murgia, the minor\u2019s education coordinator. \u201cAbove all, we want students to learn to think critically about artificial intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, the students will be given a lecture on how artificial intelligence (AI) works from a technical point of view and will also have to write an essay themselves. Murgia: \u201cStudents will then reflect on how their writing process and essay differ from the copied essay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Never truly creative <\/h2>

Murgia hopes that students will come to the conclusion that artificial intelligence \u2018can never truly be creative\u2019. This is because it is based on historical data, explains Murgia. For example, this could lead to outdated standards and prejudices being included in the text. Murgia: \u201cIf you are stuck in the past, nothing new can be created.\u201d<\/p>\n

In order to give an impression of the assignment, EM<\/em> and Murgia wrote an essay using ChatGPT. The subject of the piece, the consequences of AI on art, is based on an essay by a student who took the minor last year. In this essay, the student analyses the subject based on the concept of \u2018cultural lag\u2019: the idea that culture always lags slightly behind technological developments. The assignment put to the bot was as follows: \u201cWrite an essay on the consequences of AI on art. Include various different perspectives. Also use the concept of \u2018cultural lag\u2019 for the interpretation and reflect on your own thought process in the essay.\u201d<\/p>\n

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An essay written by ChatGPT, with comments by education coordinator Michele Murgia. Click on the picture to view the whole essay.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

The essay starts by describing two different perspectives: AI as an enrichment of art and as a threat to art. According to one perspective, artificial intelligence makes new forms of art possible, for example, while according to the bot\u2019s other perspective the resulting art lacks emotional depth and subjective interpretation. It then provides the definition of the term \u2018cultural lag\u2019 in a single paragraph. The bot then shares its own perspective, in which it says that the consequences of artificial intelligence are complex and multi-faceted. The conclusion: it is crucial to consider the concept of \u2018cultural lag\u2019 and to ensure that innovation does not stand in the way of cultural values and human creativity.<\/p>\n

Superficial<\/h2>

According to Murgia, the essay remains \u2018highly superficial\u2019 because it mainly distinguishes between two camps: people who think that art is threatened by AI and people who think that it can create new art. \u201cThis is because of the lack of interpretation. The tool can only ruminate on what has already been said in the past, without interpreting it itself.\u201d Murgia points out that the essay does not use the term \u2018cultural lag\u2019 for interpretation purposes, but only explains it. \u201cSo you can\u2019t expect ChatGPT to make a text meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, it does not take a \u2018well-substantiated and interesting position,\u2019 he says. He feels that the following would<\/em> be interesting: outlining the two sides and then giving arguments as to why one is right and the other is not. \u201cAn essay is about taking risks. You are putting something at stake: you take a position, argue in favour of it and consequently make yourself vulnerable to criticism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lightening the load<\/h2>

During the minor, which starts in September and lasts ten weeks, the education coordinator thinks that the students will also learn how the tool can<\/em> selectively support them in various ways. \u201cIf they know which phrases to enter in order to get a good answer, this can take work off their hands.\u201d According to Murgia, for example, a student can get the bot to write an introduction in order to get started with the rest of an essay more quickly.<\/p>\n

In this case, however, he points out that it is important for the student to later replace the introduction with his own text. This is because the copying of AI-generated texts for assignments is regarded as fraud, unless explicit permission is given. This also applies to the rest of the university.<\/p>\n

Not the only program<\/h2>

The minor is not the only programme at the university that is using ChatGPT. This is also the case in an assignment in the Philosophy department, says doctoral candidate Rolf Viervant, who created the assignment. Students will use the tool to create a summary of a philosophical text. They will also focus on the possibilities and limitations of the bot. Community for Learning and Innovation is currently investigating whether other programmes at the university are also using it.<\/p>\n\n\t

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