From Bengaluru to Paris, varsities, colleges mull banning ChatGPT

Students who were hoping to leave their writing and coding assignments to platforms like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot are in for some disappointment. Educational institutions across the world are desperately looking for ways to get around these new “threats” to make sure students work hard to earn their grades. While several institutions in Bengaluru have imposed curbs on the use of such AI-based tools or are in the process of doing so, top French university Sciences Po has clamped a ban on them.

AI-based tools such as ChatGPT, Github Copilot, and Blackbox can make a student’s job much easier, but, of course, unethically. ChatGPT, a free tool by OpenAI, can generate original text on any topic from a prompt. It can “write” essays, articles, poems, and even jokes, while Blackbox can copy text from any source, including something that is not clickable. GitHub Copilot helps with coding assignments by offering autocomplete-type suggestions. ChatGPT has passed Wharton MBA exams and US law and medical licensing exams with flying colours. So, it is understandable why academics are getting worried.

Watch: Will ChatGPT make teachers redundant in the near future?

Measures by Bengaluru institutions

At Bengaluru’s RV University, the computer science engineering department issued an advisory to students asking them to use AI-based tools while submitting assignments such as essays and codes. The rule came into effect on the first day of this year. The students have also been warned that they may be asked to reproduce their assignments at random. The university authorities are hoping to curb students’ dependence on these AI tools through such measures. At the same time, the varsity is also setting assignments that require the use of tools such as ChatGPT to keep students abreast of the latest developments in the tech world.

The International Institute of Information Technology Bangalose (IIIT-B) has formed a committee to come up ways in which students can use AI tools and decide when they cannot to plug the risk of plagiarism. The University Visveswaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) will decide on the course of action regarding ChatGPT and other AI-based tools in a meeting. On the other hand, Dayanand Sagar University is planning to make assignments more mathematical or technical so that students cannot rely on these tools.

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Deccan Herald quoted BV Ravishankar, principal of Nagarjuna College of Engineering and Technology, as saying: “These kinds of platforms will kill creativity, writing, and thinking among students.”

At the Christ and Jain (deemed) universities, too, rules will be coming up to precent the unethical use of AI-based tools.

US curbs ChatGPT use in schools

According to US media reports, several public schools in New York City and Seattle have banned ChatGPT. On the other hand, some US universities plan to restrict the number of take-home assessments. Rather, they will focus on hand-written essays and oral exams.

Also read: Can ChatGPT dethrone Google? What Gmail creator says

The Sciences Po university in France has emailed all students and faculty, announcing the ban on AI-based tools. “Without transparent referencing, students are forbidden to use the software for the production of any written work or presentations, except for specific course purposes, with the supervision of a course leader,” the varsity said, according to Reuters.

However, the struggle for the educational institutions will be continuous it seems, with Microsoft Corp last week announcing a further multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI.

(With agency inputs)