FALL 2023 | 37 to ask questions and assists with tasks such as composing emails, essays and code. ChatGPT is powered by a large language model, or LLM. Such technology depends on text mining and web scraping to build a collection of data. An LLM learns through sophisticated algorithms created by computer scientists that are applied to training data sets created by humans, who identify output that is more or less useful, according to Lehigh’s Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL). ChatGPT’s output isn’t always pulled from reliable sources, however. At the time this article was written, ChatGPT’s database of information didn’t go beyond September 2021. “It can only produce results based on things it already knows, so you get replication of bias concerns, unauthorized use of sources,” says Greg Reihman, vice provost of Lehigh’s Library & Technology Services, who studied ChatGPT in his Philosophy and Technology class. “Also, everything in these data sets is anonymous. ... You couldn’t trace an AI-generated sentence back to where it came from.” For some users, this raises ethical concerns about asking students to use the technology. Other faculty adopt a more experimental approach and use it to test their knowledge about an area of expertise by identifying the inaccuracies generated by ChatGPT. “It’s another tool that’s in front of us, and like it or not, it’s going to shape our lives. Our students are going to look to us for guidance in whether and how to use it,” Reihman says. In the spring 2023 semester he tasked his students with researching ChatGPT and compiling a list of articles about it. Reihman put the same assignment into ChatGPT, and it generated an annotated bibliography of journals that didn’t exist. He compares the new technology to Wikipedia, which, Reihman says, caused a panic in higher education when it was released in 2001. Anyone can amend an article on Wikipedia, opening the door to potential inaccuracies, but it’s also a useful first step when researching something new. Reihman says his students were surprised that most articles they found about generative AI in education pertained to academic integrity and cheating. He says the assumption it would be used for cheating was off-putting to the students who felt the tool should be used to enhance teaching and learning. Students have always had the ability to GREG REIHMAN Vice Provost, Library & Technology Services cheat, Reihman says, adding that textbook answers are often available online for anyone who wants to look for them. One student told Reihman, “We are here because we didn’t do that.” WHAT LEHIGH FACULTY ARE DOING Over the summer, CITL put out a list of guidelines for faculty on how to incorporate the technology into their classes and led a hands-on workshop for faculty who wanted guidance in using these tools. CITL Director Peggy Kane and LTS Digital Scholarship Specialist Justin Greenlee took the lead in curating ideas for creative uses of AI-powered tools in teaching. The guidelines encourage faculty to set aside time early in their courses to talk about AI’s place in the classroom. Earlier in the year, Urban put out a call to faculty to submit a video or podcast that addressed generative AI in education with the chance to receive a grant intended to cover the cost of travel to a meeting or conference focused on educational innovation or education technology. Winners Lyam Gabel, assistant professor of theater (specializing in acting and directing) and Will Lowry, associate professor of theater (focusing on design) designed a first-year seminar called “Can AI Make Art” that explores generative AI and its use in creative work like theater. Gabel also has used ChatGPT to assist with playwriting in his classes, and Lowry has used Midjourney, a program that generates images from natural language prompts, to accelerate the design process. “Students sometimes have trouble with the blank page of paper,” Lowry says. “AI helps you get past the blank piece of paper, the blank canvas, the blank sheet of music. It’s really scary to get past that first word, note or stroke. Once you put it down, you have something to build upon.” Lowry and Gabel, who are two of 16 CITL Faculty Fellows, hope the class teaches students how to harness generative AI and inspires them to continue learning about it as it develops, including its impact. “Generative AI can be a really useful tool for learning about a topic, but you don’t want it writing a paper for you when that’s supposed to be your point of view and understanding of it,” Lowry says. In his classes, Lowry uses the technology for research, asking it to generate images based on feelings and metaphor or to show how the light looks at a particular time of day. The images can then be combined to make a new, original design. Gabel said it’s difficult to get ChatGPT to write a play that’s compelling. It prefers certain names and types of endings, but he still encourages his PEGGY KANE Director, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning LYAM GABEL Assistant Professor of Theater WILL LOWRY Associate Professor of Theater JUSTIN GREENLEE Digital Scholarship Specialist, Library & Technology Services
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