ChatGPT is a language model that allows people to interact with a computer in a more natural and conversational way. GPT stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer” and is the name given to a family of natural language models developed by open Artificial Intelligence (AI). This is also known as a form of generative AI because of its ability to produce original results.
FAQs about accessing [1]
1. How do I find it?
Start using HKUST(GZ) ChatGPT at https://gpt.hkust-gz.edu.cn. All faculty, staff, and students can use it within the HKUST(GZ) campus (on campus network only).
2.Is there an app?
No, ChatGPT is only available through a web browser using an internet enabled device.
3. Is it free?
Yes, GPT service in HKUST(GZ) is jointly constructed by Information Hub and Information Technology Department (ITD). Due to the high cost of GPT resources and the shortage of suppliers, the quota of GPT services will be limited.
1) Quota of GPT-4: 127,000 token/user/month
2) Quota of ChatGPT: 500,000 token/user/month
3) Explanation: 1 token ≈ ¾ English word. The quota of each account is calculated monthly. After it is used up, the service will be suspended until the quota is renewed in the next natural month.
4. Can I ask it questions in any language?
ChatGPT works best in English because of the amount of information available to it but it also works in other languages including Spanish, Portuguese, and French. The reliability of responses may vary depending on the language.
When is it safe to use ChatGPT? [2]
Give enough information and use keywords to help the AI understand your instructions.
Remove any information that doesn't provide useful context.
Provide examples when possible to help clarify your instructions and guide the AI in the desired direction.
ChatGPT uses grammar to interpret the task, so make sure to include it in all the right places.
Understand that AI may not always provide perfect results initially. Be ready to adjust your prompts or provide additional context as needed to improve the quality of the generated output.
“35 Ways Real People Are Using A.I. Right Now” by Francesca Paris and Larry Buchanan, The New York Times, April 14, 2023
“A Teacher's Prompt Guide to ChatGPT” by Andrew Herft
“ChatGPT for Educators | Prompting 101” by Fabien Maurin
Sandpit: Testing the capabilities of chaptGPT - reading, precising, reformatting text and refs, tabulation, rubrics and marking by Martin Compton, February 20, 2023
ChatGPT cheatsheet from QuickRef.me
3Prompt Engineering in ChatGPT: A Comprehensive Master Course
The main concern that has been expressed about ChatGPT in higher education relates to academic integrity [5]. HEIs and educators have sounded alarm bells about the increased risk of plagiarism and cheating if students use ChatGPT to prepare or write essays and exams. This may have deeper implications for subjects that rely more on written inputs or information recall, areas that ChatGPT can better support.
There are also concerns that existing tools to detect plagiarism may not be effective in the face of writing done by ChatGPT. This has already led to the development of other applications that can detect whether AI has been used in writing. In the meantime, multiple HEIs around the world have banned ChatGPT due to concerns around academic integrity and others have updated or changed the way they do assessments, basing them instead on in-class or non-written assignments.
It is important to note that ChatGPT is not governed by ethical principles and cannot distinguish between right and wrong, true and false. This tool only collects information from the databases and texts it processes on the internet, so it also learns any cognitive bias found in that information. It is therefore essential to critically analyse the results it provides and compare them with other sources of information.
A common issue when interacting with ChatGPT is hallucination, which is when the model confidently tells us inaccurate information. This often occurs when attempting to go beyond ChatGPT's knowledge cutoff or abilities.
There are two main concerns around the accessibility of ChatGPT. The first is the lack of availability of the tool in some countries due to government regulations, censorship, or other restrictions on the internet. The second concern relates to broader issues of access and equity in terms of the uneven distribution of internet availability, cost and speed. In connection, teaching and research/development on AI has also not been evenly spread around the world, with some regions far less likely to have been able to develop knowledge or resources on this topic.
In April 2023, Italy became the first country to block ChatGPT due to privacy related concerns. The country’s data protection authority said that there was no legal basis for the collection and storage of personal data used to train ChatGPT. The authority also raised ethical concerns around the tool’s inability to determine a user’s age, meaning minors may be exposed to age-inappropriate responses. This example highlights wider issues relating to what data is being collected, by whom, and how it is applied in AI.
ChatGPT is not currently regulated, a concern addressed by the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI. The extremely rapid development of ChatGPT has caused apprehension for many, leading a group of over 1,000 academics and private sector leaders to publish an open letter calling for a pause on the development of training powerful AI systems. This cessation would allow time for potential risks to be investigated and better understood and for shared protocols to be developed.
ChatGPT was created by a private company, OpenAI. Whilst the company has pledged to maintain a free version of ChatGPT, it has launched a subscription option (currently US$20/month) that offers greater reliability and faster access to new versions of the tool. The involvement of private entities in higher education is not new and calls for care and regulation if selecting AI and other tools that are run by companies dependent on making profit, may not be open source (and therefore more equitable and available), and which may be extracting data for commercial purposes.
Source: [1] UNESCO, ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: A Quick Start Guide – licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO
[2] Flowchart devised by Aleksandr Tiulkanov, AI and Data Policy Lawyer, January 2023
[3] The roles and descriptions were created by Mike Sharples (Professor Emeritus of Educational Technology, Open University, UK) and are reproduced with permission. The examples of implementation were devised by UNESCO IESALC and also draw from suggestions by Ronald Knust Graichen (Education Consultant, the Netherlands) published at https://eduteka.icesi.edu.co/articulos/KNUST-como-usar-chatGPT-en-el-aula.
[4] Srivastava, M. (2023) ‘A day in the life of ChatGPT as an academic reviewer: Investigating the potential of large language model for scientific literature review’. OSF Preprints. Available at: https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/wydct.
[5] See also: Sullivan, M., Kelly, A. and McLaughlan, P. (2023) ‘ChatGPT in higher education: Considerations for academic integrity and student learning’, Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 6(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2023.6.1.17.
[6] UNESCO IESALC (2021) Women in higher education: has the female advantage put an end to gender inequalities? Available at: https://oecd.ai/en/wonk/closing-the-gender-gap