The Singularity is Emerging: Large Language Models and the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Education

Abstract

Singularity, posited by Kurzweil in his seminal book, The Singularity is Near, marks a time when artificial intelligence (AI) innovation outpaces the human brain’s capabilities. Large Language Models (LLM) such as OpenAi’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing, Google’s Bard, and Baidu’s Ernie place humanity at a pivotal time where mathematical neural networks surpass, benefit, or deter all facets of human existence. AI bots are prone to emergent behavior that reveals unintended or unexpected abilities, such as learning to translate English into additional world languages. Biases embedded in the training database are prevalent, and an ethical layer of humans in the loop becomes necessary to ensure that LLMs provide responses that benefit mankind. Educators and their students grapple with the intrusion of the capabilities of LLMs that render traditional lesson plans and assessments powerless to authentically measure students’ knowledge of a topic. Dialoguing effectively through prompt engineering becomes a necessary skill to harness the power of LLMs. Weary students and teachers emerging from a disruptive pandemic must grapple with how AI is changing the landscape of education. This chapter will examine the impact of LLMs on students, their teachers, and how the education field can harness AI to augment and sustain learning to prepare our stakeholders for teaching and learning in this new age of artificial intelligence.