17. ChatGPT: An unprecedented disruption for education and training? Dr Raphaël Zaffran

Hello, I’m Gabriel Real de Azua and in this new episode, I will be taking over from our usual host, Dr Raphael Zaffran, to talk to him about what seems to be all over the media and on everyone’s lips these days: ChatGPT.  The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has enabled numerous innovations in different fields, and education is no exception. Educational chatbots, especially AI-powered chatbots such as ChatGPT, are revolutionising the way we learn and interact with information. Since its introduction to the public, ChatGPT has become a world-wide phenomenon and has generated both awe and fear with its sheer computing power. The disruption that ChatGPT is causing within the educational sector recalls the lukewarm reactions of many seasoned education practitioners and academics toward the arrival of the internet and the advent of Wikipedia. At the time, many perceived the near-immediate access to information as threatening the very essence of good quality, human-conducted research.  Today, similar questions arise: should the use of ChatGPT (and other AI-powered apps) be regulated? If so, how, by whom, and with what underlying pedagogical vision? These questions aside, we are living through an unprecedented disruptive revolution that could lead (or force) us to reinvent how education and training is conceptualised and operationalised. That said, where do we, as educational practitioners, stand? Should we fear the ChatGPT wave or surf on it? How can we anticipate the future to adapt our current practices? 

Dr Zaffran just published an article on this fascinating topic in NewsSpecial magazine, a publication for the staff of Geneva-based international organisations. Our podcast discussion is a great opportunity to consider the main questions around ChatGPT as of this Spring 2023 and discuss how professionals in education can approach this emerging issue.   

References: Isaac Asimov, The Robots Series (1940-1995), Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan, AI 2041: 10 visions for ou future (Random House, 2021)