August 28, 2023: How ChatGPT is shaking up education, social media is disrupting social learning and the wealthy spread pseudoscience. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | The latest version of ChatGPT can generate answers or responses to tests that are likely to be graded just as highly, if not higher, than those written by a college student, according to a new study. By comparing chatbot-generated answers with students' answers in eight different disciplines at New York University Abu Dhabi, the researchers showed that the AI content performed just as well or better in nine out of 32 subject areas.
Why this matters: AI-based cheating not only makes it more difficult to assess students' knowledge but also threatens to prevent them from learning how to write for themselves. These new cheating strategies are exposing the ineffectiveness of our education system, say experts, which is often motivated by competition, rather than growth and skill mastery.
What the experts say: Instructors could transform their courses into the "flipped classroom" model: Instead of proving their grasp of new material through homework, which could be completed by an AI, students could build on and demonstrate their knowledge through in-class projects, says Ethan Mollick, an associate professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. | | | Social media is changing the way people learn from each other. In our evolutionary past we were biased toward learning from "prestigious" individuals because these people are successful and so copying their behavior was highly advantageous. Social media algorithms have hijacked the psychology of social learning, so prestige becomes a poor signal of success because people can fake prestige on social media, writes William Brady, an assistant professor at Northwestern University.
Why this matters: I often write about studies on the effects of social media in this newsletter because I see it as a powerful–and new– societal influence with implications for mental health, political division and cognitive development. Social learning (the old-fashioned way) supports cooperation and problem-solving, but social media algorithms are designed to grab and keep your attention. As a result, newsfeeds become oversaturated with negative and moral information so that there is conflict rather than cooperation, Brady says.
What the experts say: "The effects of algorithm-mediated social learning is that people start to form incorrect perceptions of their social world," says Brady. For example, people start seeing the world as more polarized than it is, AND misinformation spreads more easily. | | | Credit: Molly Ferguson/Dominic Smith/Scientific American | | | Night Moves Light is a very dangerous threat to birds that migrate at night. Researchers are using weather radar to track birds and provide "lights out" forecasts to help keep their paths clear of visual distraction. Learn more in the final installment of our five-part podcast mini-series about birds that migrate at night. SUBSCRIBE: Apple | Spotify | | | • Companies are using gene-edited insects like black soldier flies and mealworms as a protein source in animal feed, fertilizer, biofuels and even as ingredients for burgers and shakes. | 6 min read | | | • Archaeological methods are helping to identify victims of the Hawaii wildfires. Here's how it works. | 6 min read | | | • In recent weeks, a number of hard-to-fathom, evidence-free UFO claims have echoed without challenge through the halls of Congress and all over television networks, writes Keith Kloor, a professor of journalism at New York University. This stems from a long history of tycoons using their wealth and influence to push pseudoscience in front of governance, he says. | 5 min read | | | I must admit I haven't quite come around to the idea of insects as the future source of protein in the world. Of course bugs are already a common snack in many cultures, so perhaps I'm the one behind the times. | Welcome to a new week in science. Reach out anytime with feedback and suggestions--I love hearing from you: newsletters@sciam.com. Until tomorrow! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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