More teens reported using ChatGPT for schoolwork, despite the technology’s drawbacks

Younger Generation Z is embracing OpenAI’s AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPTFor school assignments, According to In a new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center. But it is not clear that they are fully aware of the pitfalls of the technology.

In a follow-up to its 2023 survey on ChatGPT use among young people, Pew asked about 1,400 US-based teens between the ages of 13 and 17 whether they had used ChatGPT for homework or other school-related tasks. 26% said they did so, double the number two years ago.

Just over half of the teens who took the survey — 54% — said they think it’s okay to use ChatGPT to research new topics. 29% said an AI tool was acceptable for solving math problems, and 18% said using ChatGPT to write articles was acceptable.

Given the ways ChatGPT can fail, the results are likely cause for concern.

ChatGPT Not great at math – Not him The most reliable source Of the facts. Modern He studies A study of whether pioneering AI can pass a doctoral-level history test has found that GPT-4othe hypothetical AI model running ChatGPT, can only answer questions slightly more accurately than a random guess.

The same study found ChatGPT to be weakest in areas, such as social mobility and sub-Saharan African geopolitics, which is likely related to the demographics of teens who reported using it more at school. In a Pew survey, Black and Latino teens were more likely to say they used ChatGPT for school-related work than white teens.

Not surprisingly, research has been mixed on the educational impact of ChatGPT. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Found found that Turkish high school students who had access to ChatGPT performed worse on a mathematics test than students who did not have access. In separate He studiesThe researchers noted that German students using ChatGPT were able to find research materials more easily but tended to synthesize those materials less skillfully than their peers who did not use ChatGPT.

In separate reconnaissance Last year by Pew, a quarter of K-12 public school teachers said using AI tools like ChatGPT in education does more harm than good. A reconnaissance Meanwhile, the RAND Corporation and the Center for Reinventing Public Education found that only 18% of K-12 teachers use AI in their classrooms.

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