Can Students Use ChatGPT for Academic Purposes? The Potential and Challenges of Using Large Language Models in Post-Secondary Education

Abstract

The large language models (LLMs) prototype can be traced back to a research study on the transformer model published by Google researchers in 2017 (Vaswani et al., 2017). However, it was widely known and used by the general public after ChatGPT launched in late November 2022. ChatGPT is a remarkable application of LLMs; it can present an amazing conversation ability with humans (Zhao et al., 2023). Almost one million users registered for ChatGPT within 5 days of its official release (Meer, 2024), leading it to become one of the most popular artificial intelligence (AI) tools in 2023. Since then, the storm of artificial intelligence generated content (AIGC) has begun sweeping the world. Unlike previous chatbots, the responses from ChatGPT are more human-like and personalized by adapting users’ prompts. In addition to ChatGPT, Claude is another AI-based tool that utilizes LLMs to assist users in various tasks.

The applications of ChatGPT are extensive, but its controversies still exist in education. Some schools worry that ChatGPT might cause more serious cheating problems and created boycott policies, though some are gradually lifting their bans on ChatGPT. For example, New York City Public Schools banned ChatGPT in early January 2023 because they were concerned that the use of ChatGPT may cause an increase in cheating and decrease students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. A survey conducted in December 2023 by Education Week revealed that 27% of educators reported that either students or teachers are barred from using ChatGPT in schools (Klein, 2024). Although many regions and schools resist the use of ChatGPT by students, more and more tools (e.g., BERT, Claude, Gemini) with the support of LLMs emerged, allowing students to bypass ChatGPT bans.

This paper aims to examine whether and how ChatGPT can serve as an effective educational tool for students. Following an introduction to ChatGPT, this paper reviews the potential and pitfalls of using ChatGPT for academic purposes with a comparison between ChatGPT and Claude in academic performance.