Harvard has enlisted the aid of artificial intelligence (AI) in preparation for next year's offering of the university's most popular coding course. This means that AI has landed a new job!
The Harvard Crimson, the official school newspaper, reports that the Introduction to Computer Science (CS50) course at the Ivy League university would use a ChatGPT-like technology designed to assist both human professors and their students beginning in September.
Harvard's CS50 Bot
The CS50 bot is designed to be a more approachable alternative for a human lecturer by providing instant answers to common student inquiries.
In a report by the New York Post, CS50 instructor David J. Malan stated, "Our own hope is that, through AI, we can eventually approximate a 1:1 teacher:student ratio for every student in CS50." This means that they will have access to software-based tools that are available around the clock and can help each student learn at his or her own pace and in a way that is most effective for them.
In the future, the CS50 bot at Harvard will utilize an AI model to aid students with tasks including debugging, program design criticism, explaining obscure code or error messages, and answering specific inquiries.
Unlike ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot, which Malan describes as "currently too helpful," the CS50 bot will guide students toward a solution rather than just providing one.
It was noted in the report that Harvard's adoption of an AI policy occurred just a few months before the introduction of the AI tool.
Of course, CS50 would be the first course at the institution to adopt its own version since it is the most popular computer course offered. Malan referred to the CS50 robot as "an evolution of that tradition."
Nevertheless, the lecturer cautioned that students should be prepared for early versions of the CS50 bot to underperform or even offer false answers. "We'll make clear to students that they should always think critically when taking in information as input, be it from humans or software."
Yet, Malan ensured that the tools would continue to improve based on comments from educators and students.
Malan noted that CS50 course personnel have already been utilizing software tools to make their tasks simpler. He is optimistic that improvements to the AI tool would allow academics to spend less time grading.
Blurred Barriers
AI has been welcomed with wide arms at Harvard, just as such online technologies have begun to blur the boundaries between the virtual and the real.
Catfishers have rushed to the platform to utilize the capability to lure victims into online relationships with bots. It was reported that child sexual assault perpetrators are selling AI-generated malicious content.
And in a different case, a New York federal judge fined ChatGPT AI lawyers for referencing bogus AI-generated cases in court filings.