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Chatbot program banned in Victorian state schools

The artificial intelligence program ChatGPT will be blocked in Victorian state schools, a few weeks after NSW issued a similar ban.

EDUCATION SCHOOL STOCK Victorian state school students have been banned from using ChatGPT while on school grounds.
February 2, 2023
By Tara Cosoleto
2 February 2023

Students in Victorian state schools will not be able to access the artificial intelligence program ChatGPT while on school grounds.

Victoria’s education department on Wednesday announced access to the chatbot had been blocked from state school servers and devices as part of an interim measure. 

While many have raised concerns over ChatGPT’s capability to help students cheat, the department cited the program’s 18-plus age restriction as reason for the ban.

“The department is undertaking further analysis of the implications of these emerging technologies and is preparing advice for schools,” a department spokesman told AAP. 

ChatGPT was only launched by tech firm OpenAI in November, but education departments around the world have taken steps to ban the program in schools.

There are concerns it could help students cheat on assessments because of the program’s ability to compose human-like writing in response to any prompt or instruction.

The NSW education department last month issued a similar ban on ChatGPT in state schools, saying it needed time to established clear guidance for teachers.

Australian universities are also addressing the emergence of artificial intelligence applications, with the Group of Eight universities moving to more in-person supervision and increased paper assessments this year.

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