MILWAUKEE — The conversation surrounding artificial intelligence elicits a wide range of reactions, but some of the most common are enthusiasm at its potential to help society and fear of its potential to take jobs. Marquette education professor Gabriel Velez says he embraces it as a tool.
During an appearance on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News, Dr. Velez expressed that AI is not something that should be shied away from:
“The truth is, I think we’re all trying to figure this out. These folks (students) have gone through 15, 16 years of education without it and they’re trying to figure it out too. So I think we should do this together.”
Dr. Velez described having an open dialogue with his students about the potential of AI. He mentioned one student comparing the use of Chat GPT, a generative AI that creates essay answers based on a prompt, to using Google; and then having a discussion on whether a comparison to Google is fair.
RELATED: Dwyane Wade donating $3 million to Marquette for literacy, scholarships & athletic facilities
In terms of practical usage, Dr. Velez said it can be used to start the process of a research paper:
“[AI] will give you topics. Then you take those topics because it is summarizing from a lot of knowledge out there. You take that knowledge to the library and start searching for research.”
Since Chat GPT can create informed responses to user prompts, it opens a door for all kinds of plagiarism. While Dr. Velez recognizes this as a risk, he believes it should not discourage people from seeing its positive uses as well.
“I’ve worked with Marquette’s Integrity Office to ask ‘how can we deal with this as a learning process?,” Dr. Velez questioned. “Rather than punishing a student for plagiarizing, let’s talk about how we can teach them and how we can use it in a different way.”
To reduce the chance of AI being used in malicious ways, Dr. Velez says he uses handwritten response exercises early in a semester to get acquainted with a student’s writing style. When his coursework requires online responses, he trusts his students to do the right thing.
TOP HEADLINES FROM THE 620 WTMJ NEWS TEAM:
- Mother and caregiver of Elijah Vue charged with child neglect
- Unique Milwaukee County housing project could break ground in June
- Wis. Morning News dissects the new skipper’s speech to Milwaukee Brewers
- Spring today, Winter tomorrow! Milwaukee area flirts with springtime warmth, dropping to 20s overnight
- Bucks All-Star makes a mark on Big Brothers Big Sisters mentorship organization + Mentor Zone on the way
READ: Milwaukee Auto Show spotlights new tech trends & innovations in auto industry