AI Expert: ChatGPT and the Future of Education

Newswise — ALBANY, N.Y. – You’ve likely heard about ChatGPT, an AI-based chatbot launched by OpenAI that is making headlines for its capability to read and write like a human when prompted.

Since its release last fall, the new tool has caught the attention of school administrators, teachers, parents and students, with questions about how artificial intelligence fits into the classroom. Will it become an aid for teaching and learning? Or will its primary effect be to promote plagiarism and cheating?

George Berg, an associate professor and chair of the Cybersecurity Department at the University at Albany’s College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, studies artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity and maker technologies. 

Berg recently hosted a panel discussion that examined ChatGPT from multiple perspectives. He was also featured as an expert on Fox 5 – NYC and NEWS10 ABC.

“It is quite an extraordinary tool for education,” said Berg, in a Q&A about ChatGPT. “In the simplest case, you can use it sort of like a search engine, but one that will answer you back in text… As students learn the skills of writing, from the mechanical level of putting good sentences down on paper, on up to organizing a high-level essay, tools like ChatGPT can be very helpful. It’s like having an implicit tutor.”

Berg is available for phone or live/taped interviews. UAlbany also has an on-campus television studio for satellite interviews.