Schools across world embrace AI tools, US educators ban them

DENMARK — Various school districts throughout the United States and the world have banned an artificial intelligence bot called ChatGPT because of cheating concerns.

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But, there are five high schools in Denmark that are embracing the AI platform and encouraging students to use it as part of a two-year project.

The bot is known for writing essays and helping student ace their exams.

“Whether or not you like this and whether or not you think it’s problematic, you have to realize that it is here,” Danish English teacher Mette Mølgaard Pedersen said.

These teachers in Denmark see the generated text as not only a tool to solve problems but also a helping hand to better learn information along the way.

“It is… a misunderstanding to think that the primary goal of the school system is to detect students who cheat. The primary goal of the school system is to teach the students,” Pedersen said.

“It’s a nice way of using it. It’s giving you a couple of answers. If you are in doubt of what the text is about,” Danish student Fie Nørskov said.

Educators in Denmark believe it’s best to talk about the bot, instead of banning it.

“It’s so important to have open conversations with the students and the pupils and to allow them to do things,” METoDo education consultant Tine Wirenfeldt Jensen said.

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Students in Denmark see the AI bot as a personal tutor, which helps them understand how to use new technology best.

“It’s almost like a search engine, but you can be more specific with it and, it can give you more straight answers than typing something into Google,” Danish student Jacob Yde Dideriksen said.

The New York City Department of Education is the largest school district in the country, and it reversed its ban on ChatGPT earlier this year.

Educators said the new tool caught schools off guard and the ban was made, in part, out of fear.

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