November 30th 2022, ChatGPT is released. Within the next few months, the AI model will become the fastest growing application in all of human history, gaining one million users in just five days. But this meteoric rise is leaving many institutions, including GHS, unprepared for the fallout.

For many schools, the initial reaction was to ban the ChatGPT website from their Wi-Fi, but in the background, school administrators are searching for a long term solution. Some schools began treating ChatGPT like Wikipedia, while others are trying to use it as an assistant.

While it is unclear what GHS’ future stance on AI will be, there are some things going on behind the scenes. This December, a teacher workshop focusing on AI and ChatGPT will be held to introduce teachers to possible implementations in the classroom. Teachers have also gained access to the Bing chat AI through their Microsoft accounts.

With the recent proliferation of academic dishonesty through AI tools, teachers have also been experimenting with AI on their own. Since AI models like ChatGPT will change the classroom dynamic in unpredictable ways, many traditional teaching methods will become obsolete. With the ability to get an AI tutor at the push of a button or create an essay in seconds, teachers will have to adapt to this new world.

Ms O’Shea, an English teacher at GHS, has been interested in how ChatGPT will be used in the classroom. Likening it to a modern day calculator, Ms O’Shea plans on incorporating the program into future lessons. “It’s … made me question the purpose of the assignments I’m giving” Ms O’Shea commented, “if I’m giving an assignment that is easily completed by ChatGPT I think that’s a problem on my end.”