The Place of ChatGPT in Institutions of Higher Learning: A Resident Evil

The Chat GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a tool created by Open-AI which is trained using supervised and reinforcement learning methods like Natural Language Processing (NLP). This language model currently gaining popularity is believed to revolutionize the present research and academic practices. Since its inception in November 2022, the artificial intelligence application has attracted over 100 million users among them, students, educators, and researchers. However, there are reservations from researchers and scholars on its role in academics. This study investigated the moral, technological, and academic dilemmas that arise with the use of ChatGPT in education, with a focus on the situation in institutions of higher learning in Kenya. 256 respondents were sampled from five (5) universities in Kenya (Public and Private) via online survey questionnaire to determine their experiences with and motivations for using AI-powered conversational agents with a specific focus on ChatGPT. The findings revealed that there is a mixed reaction in adoption and use amongst lecturers and students. The study further showed that there is an acute difficulty in detection of assessment done by ChatGPT since most plagiarism detection software’s are still unable to detect AI generated work. While some believe ChatGPT and related AI technologies will revolutionize education, others believe they pose a threat to the development of critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and emotional intelligence.