Have you read "1984", one of the greatest novels ever written? Its author, George Orwell, is one of my top most favourites for his honesty, authenticity and courage to stand up for principles. Every word he writes is fragrant with his devotion to all that is genuine in this god-forsaken world.
In that dystopian "1984", Orwell introduces us to this 'Big Brother' whose ever watchful eyes seem to follow the hapless victims everywhere. My submission is that currently we are really living that fictional nightmare, and every nano second.
As it is, each time we use the internet, either for referencing or for e-mailing or for wapp-messaging, we leave an indelible trace. Every word we read, each site/sight we visit, we are scattering like the bird seed information about ourselves. All such data get mined in such a way that we are victimised by the prisons we thus make for ourselves.
This doubt of mine got strengthened due to a lecture I listened to in the evening. Well, I am attending an online faculty development programme organised by the UGC. Such attendance strengthens the c.v. and, moreover, keeps one abreast of the latest in the academia.
There was this lecture about technology and academics. First there was a reference to Google Earth. Blithely was it mentioned how thus is available a camera that can, like a drone, capture anything everywhere. In the hoo-ha that followed, it did not seem to occur to anyone nor matter much that thus is individual privacy, an impossible dream currently, much infringed upon.
Next, there were discussions about how the ChatGpt and multiple other similar platforms (one of the most interesting though intriguing aspects of interactive (communication) technology is its infinite capability for endless repetitive doubling of functions!) get a teacher ready made lectures with the right writing of a prompt.
Everybody else, except me, found it wow, and wah-wah-ed it. How horribly bothersome, nay, downright dangerous, this is! Facetiously put, why would students attend any lecture at all as they, masters of such technology, can create with the ChatGpt, and types, any and every lecture, question paper, project possibility, and, in addition, ready-made answers to these! Given most syllabi, no HOTS are required to guess the prompts for all these!
Much worse than such kaput-ing of the teacher function is the fact that to such 'generated' material, there is not any validity nor authenticity. It is even much worse than the Google oriented copy-paste job for which people had to check at least a few sites. Such 'generated' material could, moreover, be downright wrong! Yet most teachers found it a panacea!
When I pointed out this lacunae, a huge problem, the expert had to agree to it. Most unhappily and pathetically he was asked by others how to check the authenticity to which the obvious answer had to be "check with/through books" which appeared disparaging to most.
Why the need to use technology to avoid hard work and genuine commitment to one's profession that should develop the learners' critical and creative abilities? How would that be possible through ChatGpt generated lectures, however 'smart' they might be? Why turn technology in to 'Nirali' guides? Would students, who can easily understand such sources, have any respect for their teachers?
In one of the colleges where I used to teach Eng Lit and other related papers, there was this senior professor (with all the attendant perks!ha!ha!ha!) who used to teach in the class with a guide, it seems. Students used to tell him the 'guide' page number which he would fumble for after attending to a call on the mobile during the lecture. I had found all these stories impossible fiction. They apparently were facts. If students mocked such chicanery, what would they think of chat-gpt-ed lectures!?!
To begin with, the use of technology is always fraught with moral dilemmas. Especially for professions like teaching, huge ethical issues are involved because (in)directly the classroom creates human(e) beings. A classroom must sensitise, must teach critical analyses, must give unique insights, and not indulge in easy escapades, right? Why create/be created by Frankenstein's galore? That is the question!
Pratima@ Tesla Musk has already created not only self-driving cars but humanoids as well, that is, female robots who are perfection itself, and can give birth to genetically ideal babies with high intelligence and all health and/or beauty issues sorted out. Apparently, by 2026, these would be mass produced, moreover. Big brother is watching us all right, in our bathrooms, in the bedrooms, and in maternity wards!
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