Podcast Title: All Of It
Host: Alison Stewart
Episode: How ChatGPT is Changing Education
Release Date: May 13, 2025
Description: ALL OF IT is a show about culture and its consumers, aiming to engage thinkers, doers, makers, and creators in discussions about the what and why of their work within the vibrant cultural landscape of New York City.
Introduction to the Issue
Alison Stewart opens the episode by highlighting the pervasive use of ChatGPT on college campuses. Citing a 2023 survey, she notes that 90% of college students utilized ChatGPT for homework within two years of its launch. This widespread adoption has sparked significant debate within educational institutions about the role of generative AI in academia.
Key Quote:
"ChatGPT and other generative AI programs are now a fact of the classroom and one that schools are struggling to know what to do about." — Alison Stewart [00:29]
Interview with James D. Walsh
Understanding Generative AI
James D. Walsh, a feature writer for Intelligencer from New York Magazine, provides clarity on generative AI. He describes it as a tool that can produce seemingly original thoughts, likening it to a "genie's lamp" that can generate essays on demand.
Key Quote:
"Generative AI is the ability of this computer to produce what seems to us to be wholly original thoughts... it works magic." — James D. Walsh [01:30]
Student Usage Patterns
Walsh elaborates on the diverse ways students are leveraging ChatGPT:
- Academic Assistance: Outlining papers, generating ideas, writing entire paragraphs, and analyzing data in STEM fields.
- Cheating vs. Tool: While AI can enhance learning, it also serves as a potent tool for academic dishonesty.
Key Quote:
"They are outlining their papers, they are asking for ideas for their papers... but of course, there are a lot of ways that it can be the perfect cheating tool." — James D. Walsh [02:12]
Ethical Considerations and Student Perspectives
Walsh discusses a student who claims to oppose cheating and plagiarism but admits to using AI-generated content for her essays. This paradox underscores the blurred lines between ethical use and academic dishonesty.
Key Quote:
"She's using it to generate the central arguments of her essay. And of course, that's a lot of the thinking that we need and we develop in college." — James D. Walsh [03:42]
Professor Challenges and AI Detection
Professors are grappling with enforcing AI usage policies. Walsh highlights the difficulty in distinguishing AI-generated content from student work and the limitations of current AI detection tools.
Key Quote:
"Proving the case kind of turns professors into the Perry Mason role, trying to catch an AI, which is just really unpleasant for everybody." — James D. Walsh [04:44]
Educators' Responses
Adapting Assignments
Professor Anna from Brooklyn shares her strategy of redesigning assignments to require engagement with non-public materials, making it harder for AI to generate coherent responses without genuine student effort.
Key Quote:
"I reworked my assignments... so that they actually have to do some of their original work." — Anna [06:42]
Integrating AI Creatively
Ann from Harlem discusses her approach to embrace AI as a pedagogical tool rather than banning it outright. She encourages transparency, requiring students to cite AI usage and verifying AI-generated claims.
Key Quote:
"Our challenge as educators is to figure out how do we fold it in so that it's not cheating, but it's helping them learn and it's helping us figure out how can this be instructive." — Ann [08:43]
Institutional Struggles
James Walsh notes that many professors feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of students using AI, especially when students disregard citation guidelines, leading to frustration and ethical dilemmas in grading.
Key Quote:
"They feel as if they're fighting this uphill battle where they're constantly confronted with and they have to make these decisions." — James D. Walsh [10:52]
Student and Educator Testimonials
-
George from Montclair: Shares his experience shifting to short-answer questions to mitigate plagiarism and the challenges of identifying AI-generated content.
Key Quote:
"I've pulled back from essay questions and gone to short answer questions just to make sure that they've read the text." — George [15:20] -
Emmy, an English Professor: Emphasizes the importance of in-class writing and comparing it to take-home assignments to detect discrepancies indicative of AI use.
Key Quote:
"We are increasingly using the in-class writing for just about everything. It's the only way you can assure that the students are thinking, writing, struggling with syntax and grammar." — Emmy [19:27]
Impact of COVID-19
The conversation touches upon how the remote learning environment during COVID-19 exacerbated academic dishonesty, providing students with more opportunities to misuse AI tools like ChatGPT.
Key Quote:
"Schools saw a spike in cheating because of remote learning... access to all these websites like CourseHero and Chegg." — James D. Walsh [17:31]
Journalists' Use of AI
Walsh acknowledges that while journalists utilize ChatGPT for tasks like interview transcriptions and data synthesis, they remain cautious about relying on it for factual reporting or original content creation.
Key Quote:
"Journalists... are extremely grateful to ChatGPT for, for interview transcriptions... but I certainly do not rely on it in any sort of way for anything factual." — James D. Walsh [18:30]
Student Perspective
A student named Emmy shares her stance on AI usage. She does not consider using AI for certain tasks as cheating and appreciates AI apps for providing explanations in subjects like math.
Key Quote:
"I don't consider it cheating. I use other AI apps for helping with math. It also gives me an explanation that's interesting." — Emmy [19:07]
The Pressure of Grades and AI Dependence
The discussion delves into the societal pressures that drive students to use AI tools. Walsh argues that the transactional nature of education, where grades are directly linked to future success, compels students to seek tools that can enhance their academic performance, sometimes at the expense of genuine learning.
Key Quote:
"If they have this tool in their back pocket and seemingly no consequences for using it, then who can blame them for using means a better life?" — James D. Walsh [21:26]
Future of AI in Education
Walsh emphasizes the need for structured integration of AI in educational curricula, suggesting that AI should be introduced with appropriate guardrails to maximize its benefits while minimizing ethical concerns.
Key Quote:
"I think we should be introducing AI to kids, but I think there needs to be guardrails." — James D. Walsh [22:25]
Final Thoughts
The episode concludes with reflections on the evolving landscape of education in the age of AI. Educators are adapting by redesigning assessments, fostering trust, and incorporating AI as a learning tool rather than a shortcut. The overarching theme stresses the necessity of balancing technological advancements with academic integrity and genuine skill development.
Closing Quote:
"We have this magic tool that can do all of these assignments. So it's forced both students and professors to question the assignments to begin with on a kind of granular level." — James D. Walsh [14:25]
Conclusion:
The episode "How ChatGPT is Changing Education" provides a comprehensive exploration of the challenges and opportunities presented by generative AI in academic settings. Through insightful interviews and real-world testimonials, it underscores the transformative impact of AI on teaching methodologies, student behaviors, and the fundamental purpose of higher education. As institutions navigate this new terrain, the dialogue emphasizes the importance of adapting pedagogical strategies to harness AI's potential while safeguarding the integrity of educational outcomes.