ChatGPT and Education

In a recent blog post for Salvo magazine, Robin Phillips asserts that education is in crisis, and one of the causes seems to be ChatGPT. He says that the problem is quite simple: our kids and our educators are increasingly wondering why we should to write well when bots can just do it for you. Phillips believes that just as the typewriter removed the perceived need for good handwriting, and just as the calculator disincentivized people to compute, and just as spell check has deterred students from trying to spell correctly, and just as the internet has disincentivized people to remember things, so artificial intelligence is challenging the perceived need for students to write well. The result is a growing trend to no longer require students to write essays in school. Phillips pushes back by reminding us that language is part of what it means to be made in the image of God, and the ability to use language skillfully is fundamentally tied to clarity of thought, and therefore our human flourishing.