The Ministry of Higher Education is taking steps to provide guidelines for the use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other AI technologies in local institutions of higher education. Khaled Nordin, the Minister of Higher Education, believes that these tools could be beneficial for the learning process, but warns against their overreliance.
While the government will not be regulating ChatGPT, the ministry is working on guidelines to ensure that these AI technologies are used responsibly as tools, rather than as a replacement for human learning. According to Khaled, “It cannot be seen as a tool that is an end in itself. If we do this, then the learning process will be taken over by machines.”
In January, Khaled proposed a white paper titled “A New Horizon for Science, Technology and Innovation – A Strategy for Malaysia” to prepare the ministry for technological changes in teaching and learning. The paper aims to assess the effects and strategies of the ministry in managing various current and future technological disruptions to teaching, learning, and the governance of higher education institutions.
ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3 AI model, made waves in academia with its ability to instantly write essays on complex topics. This led to many colleges and universities adopting software to detect content written by AI. The role of ChatGPT in academia remains a widely debated topic.
Recently, OpenAI released an update to its AI model called GPT-4, which is claimed to be faster and more accurate. One of its most impressive achievements so far is that it can score in the 90th percentile of a simulated bar exam, while its predecessor could only pass with a score in the bottom 10%.
Overall, the use of AI technologies in education remains a topic of much debate, with concerns over their potential to replace human learning entirely. However, with careful guidelines and responsible use, tools like ChatGPT could prove to be valuable assets in the learning process.
