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I’ve written a number of posts this year about Artificial Intelligence and education. Next week, I’ll start my PhD exploring AI and writing, and it’s fair to say I’ve been down the rabbit hole. The rate of change is very rapid, and it seems like every week a new app is released which builds on AI large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-3 and Google’s LaMDA. Meta is investing heavily in the area too, with models like Galactica which was released for demo and then promptly pulled when it became clear how risky it might be.

The biggest risk? These AI language models can generate very well written materials that are nonetheless entirely made up. Galactica wrote convincing wiki entries and scientific journal articles, even making up the references and correctly citing them. At a brief glance, they would pass for real.

In our field of secondary education – and specifically in my area of English – there’s another worry: students using these tools to write their essays and assignments. And let’s face it. This isn’t a case of “if”, or even “when” any more: they’re already using them.

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