Is Using ChatGPT Cheating?

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:00:00]:
Well, hello there. Welcome back, everybody. You are listening to the Happy Healthy Hustle, and I’m your host, Dr. Christiane Schroedter. I’m really excited you are here today. This is going to be a good episode because I’m actually going to share a question that I got in the classroom from a student. Is using ChatGPT cheating? Today’s episode totally sparked by that moment in the classroom that made me pause and smile. One of those spontaneous conversations that suddenly turns into a bigger life question.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:00:35]:
So let me kind of go back into that conversation. Here’s really what happened. Student raised hand and asked, Dr. Schroeder, is using ChatGPT cheating? And then of course, in the classroom, if I don’t know the answer, I just say, let me think about this and let me get back to you, because I don’t want to just make up something, but the who whole class kind of leaned in and I felt I actually do have to give a response at this very moment, I can’t say, let me get back to you. And they leaned in and some were really curious, some were super skeptical, and some were actually really glad that somebody asked this question because they were probably wondering the same thing, but they didn’t dare to ask. So you know what? I think that in the classroom, that question definitely deserved more than a yes or no. Yes, I think it’s cheating. No, I don’t think it’s cheating because it’s actually not about AI or artificial intelligence at all.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:01:38]:
It’s about how we use tools that are available to us and why we are using them in the first place. So today’s episode really focuses on my response, and I have some really cool analogies. Of course, I love explaining things with comparison for you. So stay tuned. This is going to be a good episode. Let’s maybe break it down. Why did I think this question was so brilliant? When someone asks if using ChatGPT is cheating, what they’re really asking is, am I skipping something important? Is this a shortcut, taking away from learning or the doing? And I totally get it. Especially for students who have been trained to fear the.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:02:28]:
What I call the blank page syndrome, and they really feel I need to do it all from scratch. Right? First things first. Using artificial intelligence is not cheating, but using it passively, that’s just super ineffective. So when you do decide to use AI, you have to use it in an active way. And let me describe this, right? So to help explain this, I use an analogy that I explained in class on that day. And so I want to share that with you because you were not there when I explained it. And everybody in the classroom loved it. And so I thought, oh, let’s make a podcast episode out of it.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:03:15]:
All right, so the way that I explain it is with a treadmill. Yes. I am a fitness instructor and so I, I always like to explain things in a way that it ties in maybe something else that I do in my life. So think of writing or whatever you do, create your content or, or even solve a problem. Something that you always wanted to know as you work out. So let’s just say you want to improve your fitness. We all have that at various times of the year where we’re like, I really should do more walking. Let’s just say that, right? So you have two options to add more steps to your day.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:03:58]:
You could drive to the recreation center where you have your membership. Obviously you have to check in, get on some professional grade treadmill that they have there. Granted, it has to be available first. So depending on you go there, you might even have to wait. But that’s, you know the place. And you might even have to consult the trainer about how to use that treadmill. But you are there and you’re fully immersed into adding more steps to your day. Option two now is getting a treadmill for your own home gym.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:04:37]:
It’s convenient, right? Creating a little gym at home. And it doesn’t even have to be a whole room, it could just be a part of the room. So you can hop on that at home treadmill between your meetings. You’re not wasting your time in traffic, you’re not wasting time in locker rooms. But you still have to show up and actually move the legs to add those steps. So now let’s imagine somebody says, oh, you’re working out at home. Well, that doesn’t count. That’s just cheating.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:05:05]:
It’s kind of ridiculous, right? We’re like, no, I, I, I do have a treadmill. It’s, it’s pretty much my me moving my body, right? To me, it doesn’t matter where you move your body, it’s whether you actually move your body. So whether you go to the gym and you get your workout there, or you stay at home and you get your workout there, it’s that you’re actually moving, you’re adding the steps. Where you do this, it doesn’t really matter. It’s the same with AI. It’s not about whether you use ChatGPT, it’s about whether you thought about what you were trying to say and what problem you were Solving and how you use the tool to support finding that. So I would encourage you to think of ChatGPT more of using it to guide you, really as something that you still have to show up, right? Just like a treadmill, it doesn’t do the walk for you, AI doesn’t think for you. What you still need to do is you obviously still have to use it to input your prompt.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:06:24]:
So whatever you’re trying to figure out, that prompt has to be very specific in actually describing the exact problem. So you have to put that in there, give it exact directions of what you’re really trying to get out, and then you have to evaluate what it gives you. Especially, you know, when you ask a very broad question, you will be at first like, no, that actually was not a very good prompt. And then you keep refining the prompts, right? So you might have to decide what is good with regard to the response, what do I need to rewrite and what is something. I can absolutely not keep my toss, right? So keep, rewrite, toss. That’s how I look at the output from ChatGPT. That is not cheating. That’s called thinking.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:07:16]:
Because at the end of the day, you look at the output and you evaluate. So you’re using your brain to make decisions. And sometimes you might need to tweak that prompt in ChatGPT five times before it actually becomes something usable. Especially if you’re adding your prompts under a previous prompting conversation, it’s still thinking about that conversation. So if you add your prompt underneath, it’s tainted by what you previously did. Other times, it could give you something very surprising that you hadn’t even considered. So here’s the point. Using ChatGPT is not replacing your thinking, it’s just accelerating the process.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:08:06]:
In a world where time is the most precious resource, using ChatGPT is essentially just making things more efficient, because time is the real currency. Here’s the reality. None of us get more than 24 hours in a day. No matter what we do, we all have 24 hours. So we all get to decide what we’re going to do with those 24 hours. Artificial intelligence just gives us some minutes and hours back you didn’t even know you were losing in the first place. So think of it more that accelerating time, and it’s making it more efficient. And that is not just helpful, that’s a gift.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:08:53]:
So you’re gaining back some time, which is pretty amazing, and you still have to do the thinking, but it’s maybe just making it more efficient. So, for instance, you can spend Less time formatting a document, you can maybe use it to summarize an article, brainstorm some deadlines, create a lesson plan, and if it’s a tool that gives you an hour back per day, calculate that out. That’s 365 hours per year. That is 15 extra days. Days you could use for something that actually really matters. Now you’re like, oh my gosh, I could work more. You could, but at the end of the day, the way that I would encourage you to spend that time is with loved ones and building connection. So using AI to become more efficient in your business, and then you’re using the extra time to build connection with people that really matter to you.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:09:55]:
So let me share a few surprising ways that people are using AI and again, not cheating, but just to stretch their creativity or solve real problems. So sometimes when I get very long emails or very long documents, you could either way upload it or just copy and paste it and you could have it summarize it for you. Basically, I say, what are the. What is the takeaway here? What action do I need to take? So instead of reading the whole document, I just get a quick summary so I can focus on how can I act quickly and get back to that. Again, not cheating, just smart time management. You could even brainstorm sometimes about some names or titles or taglines that will make it interesting for your audience to pick up. Right? In marketing or branding, it’s all about really creating something that connects. And so, for instance, if you want to have a title that has three words in it or five words, you could exactly put in there what you’re really trying to get across.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:11:01]:
And then ChatGPT could suggest you a few different options and you say, oh, like option one, give me more of option one, and it will give you more of option one, et cetera. It’s a little bit like making a smoothie. So I look at it that way. You might use frozen fruit to just speed it up, that it’s actually a cold smoothie, but you’re still the one that gets all the ingredients together and hits the blend button. There was another metaphor right there. So if you’re thinking, oh, I don’t want to sound like everyone else that uses AI, don’t worry, it’s not, because you can totally blend up your own custom smoothie. And that is just something that comes down to the fact you just have to craft better prompts. So if you feel like you sound like everybody else, then come up with better prompts, describe more what you really want, and need and make it your own.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:12:00]:
Don’t be like everybody else, right? You have to edit with intention and you have to add your own voice to it because your voice is the real value. I always say step into your voice and that’s really something that makes a big difference at the end of the day. So what did I tell my students on that day in the classroom? Circling back to that moment, how I started this particular podcast episode here, this is what I told my students. I’m not grading you on whether you used ChatGPT. I’m grading you on whether you thought critically, communicated clearly, and showed me you understand the material. If ChatGPT is a tool that helps you get unstuck, fantastic. If it helps you meet a deadline or overcome the blank screen syndrome, wonderful. But letting it think for you, no.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:13:05]:
Then you just basically missed an opportunity to grow. So that is on you that you didn’t use it in a way you could have used it because that’s the main differentiator chatgpt that is there as a tool, but you need to use it as a tool. So on a personal note, there’s one thing I want to leave you with today is the future is not about who has the best tools. It’s about who knows how to use them thoughtfully. So whether you’re on a treadmill at the gym or on the treadmill in your living room, if you’re moving forward, you are doing the work. You’re not cheating, you’re adapting, you’re learning. And honestly, you’re winning. Thank you so much for spending this time with me here today.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:13:58]:
If this episode helped you refrain how you can think about AI, or if you’re just curious about my custom prompt library, I would love to help you. Just head over to my website, drchristiana.com all written out or connect with me on Instagram. Dr. Christiana so if you are a student, teacher, writer, entrepreneur, and you’re just wondering, am I allowed to use this? Yes. With intention, creativity and ownership. Just be honest about it. As always, small steps, big shifts. That’s what it’s all about.

Dr. Christiane Schroeter [00:14:35]:
So keep up your petite practice. I will talk to you next time on the Happy Healthy Hustle podcast. I’m so glad you are here today. I’m your host, Dr. Christiane. Thank you.