ChatGPT is an AI-powered language model developed by OpenAI that can understand and generate natural language text. In other words, it's a computer program that can communicate with humans using written language and can respond to questions or generate text on a wide range of topics. ChatGPT is designed to learn from a large corpus of text data, which allows it to generate responses that are both relevant and coherent. It's often used to power chatbots or other conversational AI applications and has many potential applications in fields such as customer service, education, and research.

ChatGPT is built using a type of AI called deep learning, which involves training a large neural network to recognize patterns in data. Specifically, ChatGPT uses a type of neural network called a transformer, which is well-suited to natural language processing tasks. One key advantage of ChatGPT over other types of AI is its ability to generate text that is coherent and contextually relevant, even when presented with novel input. This is due to its large-scale training on a diverse corpus of text data, which allows it to learn patterns and associations in language that might be difficult for other models to discern. ChatGPT has also been fine-tuned using large-scale human feedback (i.e., human evaluators ranking potential answers for various prompts). Finally, ChatGPT can potentially be fine-tuned for specific tasks or applications, allowing it to be customized to meet specific needs.

Yes, ChatGPT, in the near future, could be used for research purposes in management and there are many potential applications in this area. One potential application of ChatGPT in management research is in analysing text data from sources such as employee feedback surveys, customer reviews, or social media posts. Researchers could use ChatGPT to identify patterns and themes in the text, and to generate insights that could inform management decision-making. Another potential application is in creating simulated conversations or scenarios for use in research studies. Researchers could use ChatGPT to generate text that simulates a conversation between a manager and employee, for example, and then use this data to study how different management styles or communication strategies impact employee performance or satisfaction. ChatGPT could also be used to develop chatbots or other AI-powered tools that could help managers automate certain tasks or improve communication and collaboration within teams. Overall, ChatGPT has the potential to be a valuable tool for management researchers, offering new and innovative ways to analyse text data and generate insights.

ChatGPT is not connected to the internet, and it can produce incorrect answers. It has limited knowledge of world and events after 2021 and may also occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content. More generally, it's worth noting that ChatGPT's responses are generated probabilistically, meaning that there is some degree of randomness and unpredictability in the system's output. While the responses generated by ChatGPT can be highly accurate and relevant, there is always some degree of uncertainty associated with its output. The prompt page even warns users that ChatGPT, "may occasionally generate incorrect information," and "may occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content." For example, if you ask for a country’s capital or the elevation of a mountain, it will reliably produce a correct answer based not on a live scan of Wikipedia, but from the internally stored data that makes up its language model. But add any complexity at all to a question about geography, and ChatGPT gets shaky on its facts very quickly. However, keep in mind that ChatGPT’s factuality is a dimension of constant improvement. For example, the (latest) January 30^th release upgraded the ChatGPT model with improved factuality and mathematical capabilities.

ChatGPT is extremely efficient at generating grammatically fluent text and discourse. Nonetheless, how it is trained implies two fundamental limitations (i) flawed reasoning (to some extent), and (ii) making up stuff.

Flawed reasoning: speaking differs from thinking.  There are many documented limitations of ChatGPT for basic reasoning in arithmetic, logic, economic analysis, common sense recommendations, spelling, etc.

Making up stuff: ChatGPT has been trained by compressing vast amounts of information. This compression is not without loss. This is why the facts are blurred. For example, ChatGPT says that Prof. D. has co-founded the start-up OptimizeD. Prof D. is indeed an optimisation expert and a serial entrepreneur. However, he is NOT a co-founder of OptimizeD—this is a “shortcut” due to the “compression” process.

ChatGPT's training and learning process involves training a large neural network on a diverse corpus of text data. Specifically, ChatGPT is trained on a massive amount of data from the internet, including books, articles, and other text sources. The data is processed and pre-processed to create a large dataset, which is then used to train the neural network to recognize patterns in the data and generate coherent, relevant text. The training process involves iteratively adjusting the parameters of the neural network based on its performance on the training data. The goal is to create a model that can accurately predict the next word in a sequence of text, based on the context provided by the preceding words. Once the model has been trained on a large amount of data, it can be fine-tuned on specific tasks or applications to improve its performance on those tasks. The data used to train ChatGPT is diverse and includes a wide range of text sources from the internet. The specific materials used to train ChatGPT are not publicly available, but OpenAI has stated that the model was trained on a diverse set of text data to ensure that it is capable of generating responses that are relevant and coherent in a wide range of contexts. It's worth noting that the quality and diversity of the training data is a key factor in determining the accuracy and relevance of ChatGPT's responses, and efforts are made to ensure that the data is representative and unbiased.

There are several ethical considerations that arise when using ChatGPT in business education and research. Here are a few key examples:

Bias: ChatGPT can potentially replicate and amplify existing biases and prejudices present in the data it was trained on, which can have negative implications for research and educational outcomes. It is therefore important to be mindful of the potential for bias in the data used to train the model, and to take steps to mitigate any bias in the training data.

Privacy: ChatGPT can generate highly realistic and contextually relevant responses, which can lead to privacy concerns when it comes to sensitive or confidential information. It is important to be mindful of these risks when using ChatGPT in a business context, and to take appropriate measures to safeguard sensitive information.

Accountability: ChatGPT's ability to generate realistic text means that there is a risk that it could be used to generate misinformation or fake news, which can have serious negative consequences. Researchers and educators should be mindful of these risks and take steps to ensure that their use of ChatGPT does not contribute to the spread of misinformation.

Consent: If ChatGPT is used to collect or analyse data from human subjects, it is important to obtain informed consent from those individuals and to ensure that their privacy and other rights are respected.

Transparency: Finally, it is important to be transparent about the use of ChatGPT in research or educational settings, and to be clear about the methods used to generate or analyse text data. This includes providing clear explanations of the role of ChatGPT in research or educational activities and being transparent about any potential limitations or biases associated with its use.

There are several potential legal or regulatory issues that arise when using ChatGPT in a business education setting, and faculty need to be aware of these issues to ensure that they are in compliance with relevant laws and regulations. Here are a few key examples:

Intellectual property: ChatGPT has the potential to generate text that may be subject to copyright or other intellectual property protections. Faculty need to be aware of these protections and ensure that their use of ChatGPT does not infringe on any existing intellectual property rights.

Data privacy: As mentioned earlier, ChatGPT can generate highly realistic and contextually relevant responses, which can lead to privacy concerns when it comes to sensitive or confidential information. Faculty need to be mindful of these risks when using ChatGPT and take appropriate measures to safeguard sensitive information, such as obtaining informed consent from human subjects, de-identifying data, or using secure data storage and transmission methods.

Bias and discrimination: ChatGPT can potentially replicate and amplify existing biases and prejudices present in the data it was trained on, which can have negative implications for research and educational outcomes. Faculty need to be mindful of these risks and take steps to mitigate any bias in the data used to train the model, and to ensure that their use of ChatGPT does not contribute to discrimination or bias.

Ethical and professional standards: Finally, faculty need to be mindful of the ethical and professional standards that govern research and education in their field and ensure that their use of ChatGPT is in compliance with these standards. This includes being transparent about the use of ChatGPT in research or educational activities and being clear about the methods used to generate or analyse text data.

ChatGPT can handle nuances such as sarcasm or humour to some extent, but it can also struggle to understand these nuances in certain contexts. This is because sarcasm and humour often rely on contextual cues, such as tone of voice or facial expressions, which are not present in written text. As a result, ChatGPT may have difficulty distinguishing between sarcastic or humorous statements and more straightforward statements, particularly in cases where the context is unclear or ambiguous. In some cases, this can lead to inaccurate or irrelevant responses that may not reflect the intended meaning of the original text. Another potential challenge is that ChatGPT's responses may not always be appropriate or sensitive to cultural or social norms. For example, ChatGPT may generate responses that are inappropriate or offensive in certain contexts or cultural settings. This highlights the need to be mindful of the potential limitations and biases associated with ChatGPT's responses, particularly when it comes to nuanced or sensitive topics.

• A comprehensive overview and additional Q&A: https://lifearchitect.ai/chatgpt/
• Mahowald et al., 2023, “Dissociating language and thought in large language models: a cognitive perspective”, available here.
• Wong, 2023, “The Difference Between Speaking and Thinking”, The Atlantic
• Chiang, “ChatGPT is a blurry JPEG of the web,”2023, The New Yorker
• Mucharraz y Cano et al., 2023, “ChatGPT and AI Text Generators: Should Academia Adapt or Resist?”, Harvard Business Publishing (Education), available here.
• Lucey B., and Dowling, M., 2023, “ChatGPT could help democratize the research process, here's how”, WEF, available here.
• Van Dis et al., 2023, “ChatGPT: five priorities for research,” Nature (Comment), available here.
• Ethan Mollick’s (Wharton) blog: https://oneusefulthing.substack.com/

1. ChatGPT is a great tool for synthesis: to generate deliverables in the form of a report, essay, presentation deck, negotiation argument, code prototype, etc. Ideally, we can teach ourselves, staff, and students to use ChatGPT as a productivity-boosting tool.

2. But tools like ChatGPT will have limited capabilities for analysis. Our curriculum and assessment strategy needs to emphasise analytical skills vs. synthetical skills. Etymologically, analysis means “decompose”, or “break into smaller parts”. This includes asking questions where students should search for or expose substantive evidence: proceed from data, search for specific case examples, conduct formal reasoning, etc. ChatGPT might probably be helpful or do okay on certain tasks, but students’ input remains decisive. For quantitative question, we might consider stopping to grant partial credit for incorrect answers.

3. Highlight the importance of sources: Students should develop a critical approach toward information (e.g., difference between primary/secondary sources, fact checking). Students can engage in bibliographic searches or in the process of vetting their sources. Faculty can develop assignments where students engage in unique data collection processes: surveys, interviews, data acquired via industry collaboration, scraping of public data, etc.

Yes, on 4 April 2023 Turnitin is releasing its AI writing detection capabilities to help educators uphold academic integrity while ensuring that students are treated fairly. The AI writing indicator has been added to the Similarity Report. It shows an overall percentage of the document that AI writing tools, such as ChatGPT, may have generated. The indicator further links to a report which highlights the text segments that the model predicts were written by AI.

See Turnitin FAQs for more information.

From a student perspective, ChatGPT can be used to assist with assessments and exams in several ways:

Writing assistance: ChatGPT can be used to assist students with their writing assignments by generating suggestions or feedback on their work. For example, students can input a draft essay or written assignment and receive feedback on areas for improvement, such as sentence structure, grammar, and clarity.

Study aids: ChatGPT can be used to create study aids or practice questions for students based on past exam questions or other relevant materials. This can help students prepare for exams and improve their understanding of the course material.

Practice exams: ChatGPT can be used to generate practice exams that simulate the structure and format of the actual exam. This can help students become more familiar with the exam format and better prepare for the actual exam.

Personalized learning: ChatGPT can be used to create personalized learning experiences for students, based on their specific needs and learning style. For example, the system can generate personalized study plans or recommend additional resources or materials based on the student's performance or interests.

Quick answers: ChatGPT can be used to quickly answer specific questions that students may have about course material or assignments. This can help students better understand the material and stay on track with their studies.

The use of ChatGPT in student assignments, assessments, projects, and exams may be detectable by other software, depending on the specific application or tool being used. For example, plagiarism detection software may be able to detect similarities between text generated by ChatGPT and other sources, which could indicate that the student did not produce the work themselves. However, for the time being, the accuracy and reliability of plagiarism detection software remains very low.

Yes, ChatGPT can be used to generate exam questions or other types of assessments, and there are both implications for test security and fairness.

Benefits of using ChatGPT for generating exam questions:

Timesaving: Using ChatGPT to generate exam questions or other types of assessments can save time for educators, as the system can generate questions quickly and efficiently.

Diverse question types: ChatGPT can generate a wide range of question types, including multiple-choice, true/false, and short answer questions.

Customization: ChatGPT can be fine-tuned to generate questions that are tailored to specific course materials or learning objectives, providing a more personalized learning experience for students.

Drawbacks of using ChatGPT for generating exam questions:

Lack of transparency: The use of ChatGPT to generate exam questions or other types of assessments may make it difficult for educators to understand the underlying criteria or rationale behind the questions, potentially impacting the quality and fairness of the exam.

Limitations of AI: ChatGPT's ability to generate questions may be limited by the quality and quantity of the training data, potentially leading to inaccurate or biased questions.]

Overreliance on technology: Relying too heavily on ChatGPT to generate exam questions or other types of assessments may overlook the value of traditional teaching and learning methods, potentially leading to a less well-rounded educational experience for students.

Business schools can take several steps to ensure that students are not unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged by the use of ChatGPT in assessments and exams, including:

Clear communication: Provide students with clear information about how ChatGPT is being used in assessments and exams, including the criteria that are being used to grade or assess their work.

Consistent standards: Ensure that ChatGPT is being used consistently across different assessments and exams, and that the same criteria are being used to grade or assess all students.

Continuous monitoring: Continuously monitor the use of ChatGPT in assessments and exams, to ensure that it is working as intended and that no students are being unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged.

Regular training: Provide regular training to educators and staff on how to use ChatGPT effectively and fairly, and how to identify and address any potential issues or concerns.

Multiple assessment methods: Use multiple methods of assessment to evaluate student learning, including traditional methods such as written exams and essays, as well as newer methods such as the use of ChatGPT for grading or assessment.

Pre-testing: Pre-test ChatGPT and other assessment methods to ensure that they are accurate and reliable before using them in live assessments and exams.

There are several best practices that business schools can follow when integrating ChatGPT into the assessment and evaluation process:

Identify clear use cases: Determine specific use cases for ChatGPT that align with the school's educational goals and objectives and ensure that the use of the technology is consistent with the school's policies and values.

Implement appropriate training and support: Provide adequate training and support to educators and staff on how to use ChatGPT effectively and ethically and establish policies and procedures for its use.

Communicate with students: Communicate with students about how ChatGPT is being used in assessments and exams and provide clear information about how the technology works and how it is being used to evaluate their work.

Ensure transparency: Be transparent about how ChatGPT is being used in assessments and exams and provide students with clear information about the criteria that are being used to grade or assess their work.

Use multiple methods of assessment: Use multiple methods of assessment to evaluate student learning, including traditional methods such as written exams and essays, as well as newer methods such as the use of ChatGPT for grading or assessment.

Monitor and evaluate: Continuously monitor and evaluate the use of ChatGPT in assessments and exams and take steps to address any concerns or issues that arise.