Professor Christian Terwiesch of the prestigious Wharton School of Business had an unexpected surprise for his MBA students when he revealed that an AI tool known as ChatGPT had completed the final exam for his operations management class and achieved a grade of B- to B. The professor, who literally wrote the book on the subject, was intrigued by the technology and wanted to test its capabilities.
The results were met with shock and awe as the students realized that the answers provided by ChatGPT were written with such clarity that it was difficult to believe they were not written by a human. The professor even went as far as to use the tool to write new exam questions, with some success.
Despite the impressive performance, Professor Terwiesch was quick to point out that there were “surprising mistakes in relatively simple calculations at the level of sixth-grade math” which proved that the technology is not yet advanced enough to replace trained professionals. He emphasized that in certain fields, such as medical and investment advising, professionals must “stay away from this technology.”
However, Professor Terwiesch sees opportunities for the technology in the classroom, particularly in ways that can lighten the workload of educators and improve the learning process. He suggests using AI tools for prepping testing materials, and even for creative ways of teaching subjects such as French, where students can interview French philosophers in “real-time.”
The professor remains optimistic that technology can be used for good in the classroom and encourages other educators to find ways to “engage with the material” in a novel way. He warns, however, that the technology’s knowledge is not limitless and should be viewed more as a support for developments in fields where it may be useful.
“We should not believe that this is the end of human thinking and machines (starting to) take over,” Terwiesch said.