What if the devil is my guardian angel: ChatGPT as a case study of using chatbots in education

TLDR

Artificial intelligence has rapidly advanced and become ubiquitous, and the conversational chatbot ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, has attracted global attention while some caution its use in education. This qualitative instrumental case study investigates how early adopters employ ChatGPT in educational settings. The study unfolds in three stages: first, it surveys positive public discourse on social media; second, it evaluates ChatGPT through lenses of educational transformation, response quality, usefulness, personality, emotion, and ethics; third, it examines user experiences across ten educational scenarios, uncovering issues such as cheating, honesty, privacy, and manipulation. The research reveals both enthusiasm and significant concerns—cheating, truthfulness, privacy, and manipulation—prompting several research directions to ensure safe and responsible adoption of chatbots in education.

Abstract

Abstract Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have been progressing constantly and being more visible in different aspects of our lives. One recent phenomenon is ChatGPT, a chatbot with a conversational artificial intelligence interface that was developed by OpenAI. As one of the most advanced artificial intelligence applications, ChatGPT has drawn much public attention across the globe. In this regard, this study examines ChatGPT in education, among early adopters, through a qualitative instrumental case study. Conducted in three stages, the first stage of the study reveals that the public discourse in social media is generally positive and there is enthusiasm regarding its use in educational settings. However, there are also voices who are approaching cautiously using ChatGPT in educational settings. The second stage of the study examines the case of ChatGPT through lenses of educational transformation, response quality, usefulness, personality and emotion, and ethics. In the third and final stage of the study, the investigation of user experiences through ten educational scenarios revealed various issues, including cheating, honesty and truthfulness of ChatGPT, privacy misleading, and manipulation. The findings of this study provide several research directions that should be considered to ensure a safe and responsible adoption of chatbots, specifically ChatGPT, in education.