profit research company with the goal of bringing artificial general intelligence ( AGI ) into mainstream use . The objective was noble in that the company planned on developing AI software transparently and with free access . However , the financial costs needed to build the computing power and neural networks to realise the AGI potential necessitated the injection of commercial capital in 2019 , courtesy of Microsoft . 4
In 2020 , after several trial iterations , OpenAI released Generative Pre- Trained Transformer 3 ( GPT-3 ) that included a related model called Codex , allowing computer programmers to write code faster using natural language . OpenAI turned their attention to combining vision with language , and trained GPT-3 to find patterns between words and images resulting in DALL-E , an art generator operated by speaking or typing a description . DALL-E is an acronym for the surrealist artist Salvador Dali , and “ Eve ,” a character from the Pixar movie WALL-E . OpenAI revealed ChatGPT-3.5 to the world in in
November 2022 . 5 The adoption rate was the fastest of any previous technology reaching one million users in five days , and one hundred million just three months later .
The development and rapid adoption of large language models ( LLMs ), notably ChatGPT , signals a leap in their application with profound implications for various sectors , including education . An important note is that to build the knowledge base for a LLM it must be trained on internet-based datasets that include books , articles , websites , and social media , to learn intricate patterns to perform tasks such as answering questions , engaging in conversations , and tackling problem-solving scenarios . 6 The knowledge cutoff date for ChatGPT-3.5 was January 2022 , and for GPT-4 Turbo ( a subscription-only version ) it was April 2023 . 7
The Pedagogical Implications of LLMs in Higher Education
The two dominating perceptions of AI from the educator ’ s forum , of ' potential ' and ' scary ', align with sentiments across the higher education sector . 8 The potential of AI is an optimistic view that acknowledges it as a new opportunity to improve and enhance student learning . The contrary view holds concern that AI heralds a reduction in the value of education with the potential that students may not graduate with the necessary knowledge to be effective in their fields of work . Nevertheless , AI integration using ChatGPT Application Program Interfaces ( APIs ) is becoming pervasive in educational applications promising pedagogical innovations , from personalised learning pathways to scalable educational resources . The uptake of APIs in education software means the technology is more accessible , with instant access to conversationalstyle interactions that can recognise natural , conversational language to formulate responses adapted to the student profile . 6
Suggested pedagogical approaches explore how educators can teach students about the precarious