Does Homework Have to Be Human?

David Huffstutler

Concerns for Educators, Students, and Parents

In some ways, writing this article was like a homework assignment. It is an essay of sorts, completed by a due date, and meant to be my own work. As part of my research, I fed specific data into ChatGPT, a chatbot that uses a database of information to generate its answers. I asked it several questions about what to include in this article and how to write it, including the request, “Can you suggest 10 possible catchy titles?” The actual title is my own (as is what and how I wrote), but I pieced it together from key words and phrases in ChatGPT’s suggestions.

Was I too lazy to figure out a title? Did I plagiarize ChatGPT and steal its intellectual property, mechanically generated though it may be? These questions are important, and others are asking them as well. Should students complete assignments with the help of artificial intelligence (AI)? Should parents encourage their children to use chatbots like ChatGPT as a tutor? Should a college freshman use AI to write an essay for English 101? Does homework even have to be human? To answer these questions, we must understand AI from a Christian perspective and then consider the benefits and risks when using AI in education.