Navigating the Dilemma: Use of ChatGPT in Social Work Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence has evolved since its inception in the 1950s, resulting in the creation of large language models that are trained on extensive data sets to understand and generate content, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which launched in November 2022. Modern technology that is easy to access and free to use, like ChatGPT, is changing the educational landscape as it is an example of a large language model – an artificial intelligence network – that can process and generate text that reads as though it were written by a person. Using a survey and semi-structured interviews, this exploratory mixed-method study examined social work educators’ experiences of addressing students’ use of ChatGPT and found that although they are uncomfortable with addressing ChatGPT use with their students, they believe it is necessary to communicate its ethical use to them. Results also suggested that while using ChatGPT as a learning tool is valid, it can be overused. ChatGPT use gives students a false sense of having mastered academic material, and institutional guidelines are needed to address concerns regarding academic integrity and plagiarism. Moreover, instructors should address students’ use of ChatGPT with their institutions and take intentional steps to ethically and creatively integrate artificial intelligence models into the social work curriculum.