Many Chinese students turn to ChatGPT, which generates text through artificial intelligence, to help them with their homework, even though the app is officially inaccessible in China.
Launched last November by a California start-up, this robot – capable of producing essays, poems or computer programs in a matter of seconds – causes a sensation.
ChatGPT has sparked a flood of investors in the AI sector, but the flagship app worries teachers about the risks of cheating and plagiarism.
In China, the application cannot be accessed without a VPN program that allows you to hide the place from which the user connects.
But this does not prevent dozens of students and students interviewed by AFP from using it at any given time.
At the age of 11, Esther Chen account that ChatGPT it helped her cut her time on homework in half, while her sister Nicole uses it to learn English.
Esther studies in a competitive school in Shenzhen (south) and before, she spent four to five hours a day doing her homework.
“Now, ChatGPT helps me do my research faster“, account.
The students told AFP that they had bought foreign phone numbers or downloaded the VPN to bypass Chinese digital censorship and access ChatGPT.
Online, a seller offers a US number for just 5.5 yuan ($0.80). For an Indian number, it is less than 1 yuan ($0.14).
precious help
There are other solutions. In the WeChat messaging app, very popular in China, services like AI Life offer to ask a question to ChatGPT in exchange for 1 yuan (0.14 dollars).
Last month, a local media outlet reported that Chinese tech companies including WeChat’s parent company Tencent and Alibaba subsidiary Ant Group were ordered to cut off access to the program on their platforms.
Chinese state media accuses ChatGPT to spread “foreign political propaganda”.
Esther claims not to use this tool to do the job for her. But she recognizes that her help is valuable. She recently had to finish a reading sheet on the book “Hold up the Sky”, by the famous science fiction author Liu Cixin.
With her week full of piano, swimming, chess, and rhythmic gymnastics lessons, Esther didn’t have time to finish the book. So she asked ChatGPT a one-paragraph summary of each major character and major themes of the book. Then she wrote the reading sheet herself.
Students also use the program to avoid spending a fortune and time preparing for the English exams required to enter a university in the US, UK or Australia.
“I didn’t want to memorize lists of words or entire conversations”, explains Stella Zhang, 17, to AFP. So instead of paying up to 600 yuan ($86) an hour for a private teacher, I now use ChatGPT.
In Suzhou (south), Thomas Lau helps, in exchange for money, Chinese students who want to apply to a foreign university. But he claims to have lost dozens of customers who prefer to use ChatGPT.
The enthusiasm for ChatGPT it also whets the appetite of Chinese tech giants such as Baidu, Alibaba and JD.com, which say they are preparing their own chatbot.
But the authorities are wary, and Science Minister Wang Zhigang indicated last month that the state will soon introduce new regulations in this area.
Source: AFP
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
