ChatGPT Founder Sam Altman Predicts a Change in Homework Practices

During a speech in Tokyo on Monday, Sam Altman, the founder of ChatGPT, stated that artificial intelligence tools will transform education in a similar way to calculators, but will not replace the process of learning. Altman defended the use of this new technology.

“Probably, the take-home essays will never be quite the same again,” the OpenAI director said in a statement at Keio University.

“We have a new tool in education. Kind of like a word calculator,” he said. “And the way we teach people has to change and the way we assess students has to change.”

ChatGPT has captured the imagination of the world with its ability to create human-like conversations, typing and translations in seconds.

But it has raised concerns in many fields, including education, where some worry that students are misusing the tool or turning to it instead of producing original work.

Altman was in the Japanese capital as part of a world tour where he met with business and political leaders to discuss the possibilities and regulations of artificial intelligence.

He has regularly urged politicians to draft AI regulations, warning “if this technology goes wrong, it can go wrong”.

“The tools we have are still very rudimentary compared to the tools we’ll have in a few years,” he said Monday, again calling for safeguards and regulation.

He said he was “positive” about the new regulatory framework for artificial intelligence after meeting world leaders, but reiterated his fears.

“We feel very responsible, no matter how it goes wrong,” he said.

He also repeated previous attempts to calm fears that AI could make many existing jobs obsolete, although he acknowledged that “some jobs will disappear”.

“I don’t think it’s going to have the employment impact that people are expecting,” he added, arguing that “new job classes” would be created.

“Almost all predictions are wrong,” he said.