Chatbots – How do they affect our critical thinking skills?

8

October

2023

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Since Chat GPT’s big momentum, the number of people relying on chatbots – besides already existing research gates – has exponentially increased in the last few years. Research has found that the main reason for using chatbots is to boost productivity when doing homework, research, etc. due to the fast and efficient provision of answers/solutions to input questions (Brandtzæg and Følstad, 2017). Therefore, chatbots are very convenient as they summarize long articles, resolve code questions, explain complex terminologies and provide guidance for different projects in any field (entrepreneurship, health, strategy formulation, etc.). Nonetheless, I wonder whether these chatbots will interfere with our critical thinking capabilities for future generations.

A thin line exists between partly relying on or fully depending on AI tools. Most of us, rely on chatbots for assistance and to generate ideas, nonetheless, we still question the reliability of the information provided to us. AI tools can provide erroneous, outdated or biased data; thus, double-checking the data through other search gates or critically assessing the information is important.

The Alpha generation (2013-2025) is the first one to be born surrounded by technology interfering with their behaviour and learning processes (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2023). The convenience of using chatbots might negatively impact this generation by lacking critical thinking skills development and idea generation (Tech Business News, 2023). This is because the Alpha generation is growing up by (to some extent) fully relying on AI tools.

Chatbots such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing, Google Bard, etc. provide many benefits like facilitating research, work efficiency, assistance for business developments, creation of art and many others. Nonetheless, we should still assess the data given by these tools. We should solely rely on these, otherwise, our critical thinking skills might be reduced, our creativity might be hindered, and we will lack idea development abilities. Hence, how will chatbots impact our cognitive abilities and way of thinking? Will they hinder or boost our critical thinking skills? And idea creation capabilities?

Sources:

Brandtzæg, P. B., & Følstad, A. (2017). Why people use chatbots. In Lecture Notes in Computer Science (pp. 377–392). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70284-1_30

Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). Generation Alpha | Years, characteristics, & Facts. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Generation-Alpha

Tech Business News. (2023). ChatGPT May Lead To The Downfall Of Education And Critical Thinking. https://www.techbusinessnews.com.au/blog/chatgpt-may-lead-to-the-downfall-of-eduction-and-critical-thinking/

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The impact of AI-generated images on the art industry.

29

September

2023

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AI’s growth has drastically evolved in the past years. Nowadays, with the help of AI tools, anyone can achieve things that were unimaginable a few years ago such as creating digital art images. Thanks to image-generating tools such as Midjourney, DELL-E, Canva, etc., anyone can create digital art. Through a simple prompt text such as “Painting of nowadays technology”, these platforms generate images based on the description they are given (see image 1) (Nolan, 2022). Text-to-image tools can generate any type of content, even images based on other artists’ styles. For instance, by rewriting the exact same prompt as for image 1 but adding “Salvador Dali style”, the AI tool will recreate the image but with that painter’s style (see image 2).

Being able to create digital art with other artist styles is awesome for us – users of image-generating platforms – but how does this affect the original artists? Is using another artist’s style seen as plagiarism or stolen art? There is a lot of controversy and scepticism in the arts industry concerning AI-generated images.  To what extent is ethical to sell AI-generated images with other artist’s names on them? Artists see this as “harsh and aggressive” as their names and painting styles are used without their consent/permission (Nolan, 2022).

A rising question rooted in AI-generated images is whether these can be called ‘art’. Technology can create images resembling to paintings, but what makes a piece of art is the emotional component the painter leaves behind (Mineo, 2023). AI cannot reflect emotion behind its illustrations. From a painter’s perspective, these AI-generated images cannot really be considered art. However, from a developer’s perspective, creating images from algorithms, and machine learning can be considered art. Therefore, I think the definition of art is subjective and depending on the viewpoint, AI-generated images could be seen as art.

Sources:

Nolan, B. (2022). Artists say AI image generators are copying their style to make thousands of new images — and it’s completely out of their control. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-image-generators-artists-copying-style-thousands-images-2022-10?international=true&r=US&IR=T

Mineo, L. (2023). Is art generated by artificial intelligence real art? Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/08/is-art-generated-by-artificial-intelligence-real-art/#:~:text=The%20emergence%20of%20AI%2Dimage,and%20creators%20out%20of%20work.

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