Delving into Chit-Chat with GPT-3.5: Holy Grail or Pandora’s Box? A Review of AI Opportunities and Challenges in Academia

Griszbacher, Norbert (2024) Delving into Chit-Chat with GPT-3.5: Holy Grail or Pandora’s Box? A Review of AI Opportunities and Challenges in Academia. GILE JOURNAL OF SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, 4 (1). pp. 4-29. ISSN 2732-3781

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Abstract

In recent history, technological progress has continually reshaped various aspects of our lives. One notable advancement is the emergence of ChatGPT, an advanced AI-based chatbot that has significantly impacted industries and daily routines. Particularly in education, ChatGPT has ushered in new possibilities for students, teachers, and researchers, offering advanced capabilities in tasks ranging from class preparation to paper writing. However, as a new phenomenon, it came with challenges within an unexplored grey area, introducing certain threats that persist even after more than a year into the ChatGPT journey (e.g., bias, privacy, plagiarism, misuse, and abuse). This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to explore the opportunities and threats associated with ChatGPT’s use in academia, drawing insights from 26 selected papers. The findings suggest that the currently available ChatGPT version (3.5) holds promise by augmenting human knowledge and streamlining processes for students, teachers, and researchers, provided its limitations are addressed effectively. Considering the existing constraints of ChatGPT and our understanding, its current utility is primarily limited to routine tasks like data mining, idea generation and language editing, serving as an assistant where human expertise, judgment, and creativity are indispensable and irreplaceable. However, understanding the ethical and effective use of AI in academic settings remains a challenge, necessitating further research, especially comparative and longitudinal studies. The paper concludes with a discussion section that provides valuable insights for future discourse, emphasising practical and theoretical considerations. Despite the present challenges, the inevitable integration of AI into academia requires proactive collaboration among academic and business stakeholders to dispel current myths and implement necessary policies for successful human-AI collaboration. It is essential to recognise that our world is evolving, and upcoming generations will inevitably engage with AI. This calls for cultural shifts, mindset changes, and skill enhancements, particularly in creativity and critical thinking abilities.

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