Once upon a time, the human kind relied on the wisdom of owls, the advice of wise old sages, or the cryptic ramblings of fortune cookies to illuminate their way. Now, the humans turn to ChatGPT, the virtual oracle birthed by the artificial intelligence masterminds at OpenAI. As the world embraces this technological marvel, one must ask:
“Should we be popping champagne or building bunkers in preparation for our eventual robot overlords?”
On one hand, ChatGPT is a modern-day miracle worker, swooping in to save us from the abyss of unanswered questions. Imagine you’re a student preparing for an exam, and you’ve forgotten the fundamentals of photosynthesis. Fear not, for ChatGPT is here, armed with a veritable treasure trove of knowledge that would make even the most distinguished botanist weep with envy.
“I ended up cutting to the chase and coercing ChatGPT into a confession.”
However, amidst the plethora of benefits that ChatGPT presents, there are many concerns raised.
Concerns over privacy and safety are paramount, with whispers of Big Brother infiltrating our most personal conversations. After all, is ChatGPT a benevolent dispenser of wisdom, or a spy, lurking in the shadows and secretly stealing your Netflix password? For example, on March 20 this year, a bug allowed some users to see titles from another active user’s chat history. It’s also possible that the first message of a newly-created conversation was visible in someone else’s chat history if both users were active around the same time. Though the bug is fixed currently, who knows how easy it will be for hackers to retrieve your conversations? Well, nobody knows, so just to be safe, never input any sensitive information when using ChatGPT, even if it’s relevant to what you’re asking!
Furthermore, the ethical implications of ChatGPT’s and similar AI’s existence have sparked great outrage and worry. It is estimated that ChatGPT will replace 4.8 million jobs in the US. What about the economic effects of AI in Singapore?
Let’s bring it back to earth and consider the utility of ChatGPT for GP students. Will my job as a GP tutor be replaced? I ended up cutting to the chase and coercing ChatGPT into a confession. This is what IT (ChatGPT) responded with:
Yes, I can help you with General Paper. General Paper (GP) is a subject in some pre-university programs, such as the GCE Advanced Level (A-Level) examinations, that aims to develop critical thinking, communication, and argumentative skills through the exploration of various topics.
Here’s an outline of what you can expect to learn:
Essay writing:
a. Understanding the question
b. Brainstorming and planning
c. Developing a thesis statement
d. Structuring the essay (introduction, body, conclusion)
e. Presenting arguments and counterarguments
f. Supporting your claims with evidence and examples
g. Writing clearly and concisely
Comprehension skills:
a. Reading and understanding various texts (articles, essays, speeches, etc.)
b. Identifying main ideas and key points
c. Summarising and paraphrasing
d. Analysing and evaluating arguments
e. Answering comprehension questions accurately and effectively
Critical thinking:
a. Recognizing assumptions, biases, and logical fallacies
b. Evaluating the strength of arguments and evidence
c. Identifying the implications and consequences of a position
d. Comparing and contrasting different perspectives
e. Developing your own reasoned judgments and opinions
Common GP topics:
a. Science and technology
b. Social issues
c. Environmental issues
d. Politics and governance
e. Education
f. Media and culture
g. Ethics and morality
We can focus on any of these aspects or explore specific topics you’re interested in. Please let me know what you’d like to work on, and I’d be happy to help.
Wow, IT summarised what GP is to a tee! Guess I’m really in trouble now… Or am I? Not one to be easily undone, I decided to pose IT a simple question about Singaporean current affairs, one of the most important things to note as a JC student.
“Tell me about Singaporean politics in 2022 and 2023”
IT responded with:
As an AI language model, my knowledge is limited to information up to September 2021, and I cannot provide updates on Singaporean politics in 2022 and 2023. However, I can give you a general overview of Singapore’s political landscape leading up to 2021.
Singapore’s political scene has been dominated by the People’s Action Party (PAP) since the country’s independence in 1965. The PAP, known for its pragmatic approach and focus on economic growth, has consistently maintained a supermajority in the Singaporean Parliament. The Prime Minister during my knowledge cutoff was Lee Hsien Loong, who has held the position since 2004.
Opposition parties in Singapore have historically struggled to gain significant representation in Parliament. However, in the 2020 general election, the opposition made some progress, with the Workers’ Party winning 10 seats, the largest number for an opposition party in Singapore’s history. This development signalled an increased desire among Singaporeans for diverse political representation and greater checks and balances.
Some key issues in Singaporean politics leading up to 2021 included economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, social and income inequality, climate change and environmental sustainability, and continued discussions about political succession, as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had previously announced his intention to step down before the age of 70.
Please note that these observations are based on historical data and may not reflect the most recent developments in Singaporean politics. For up-to-date information, I recommend consulting reliable news sources or conducting further research.
Well, all good information, but IT was unable to answer my question. IT was not even able to mention that the political succession for the PAP was back on track in 2022, with the promotion of Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Neither was IT able to share that the Leader of the Opposition, Pritam Singh, over a Raeesah Khan lying saga, was grilled at the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges (consisting mostly of PAP MPs) and whose case was referred to the police for further investigations.
Phew, I think my job’s safe (for now!). A big part of GP is using the most recent examples to substantiate your claims, be it in Paper 1 or for Paper 2’s Application Question. Plus, ChatGPT may struggle with the nuances of local context or the intricacies of moral dilemmas. Can we trust ChatGPT to navigate the complexities of Singaporean politics, or grasp the subtleties of the kiasu mindset? Nay, I say.
“Do not be a REPEATER – like ChatGPT. Be original! Your own ideas. Your own voice.”
Additionally, does ChatGPT’s impressive abilities mark the death of intellectualism? It can spin a remarkable essay in a matter of seconds! The next time a friend of yours scores a bit too well, remember to keep an eye out. Plagiarism and unoriginality is now a major concern in academia with the great wave of AI tools being developed. However, fret not, there have also now been growing ways to verify if works are human or not, such as sites like CopyLeak’s AI Content Detector. Well, it is still easy to paraphrase what an AI writes to make it look like yours (put those Paper 2 skills into good use!), but in my opinion that is just short-changing yourself. AI tools are a great supplement and can help us with technicalities such as writing flair, but we should take it upon ourselves to be responsible for our own learning – generate original ideas ourselves!
Do not be a REPEATER – like ChatGPT. Be original! Your own ideas. Your own voice. This is our edge over machine learning. And that is what we must continue to hone to stay ahead of the machines.
In essence, ChatGPT is a double-edged sword, one that we must wield with caution and mindfulness. IT is great as a repository of information and can enhance our productivity significantly. However, we must be wary of over-reliance and remain safe, creative and critical thinkers still. Never deprive yourself of an opportunity to learn and improve just to meet a certain deadline quicker. That way, we can constantly level up and stay competitive amidst all these AI tools.
And that is exactly the competitive edge that students of Ace Your GP’s GP Tuition get to enjoy – constantly updated examples, timely insights, training to develop one’s critical thinking and worldview, with a wide exposure to evaluative and highly nuanced thinking and expressions.
About Ace GP Tuition
Founded by Chief Tutor Kelvin Hong, Ace GP Tuition provides a comprehensive program to guide students in understanding complex trends and events happening in the world today and applying all these knowledge as well as english language abilities to tackle the Singapore A Level General Paper examination.
Our GP Tuition is especially tailored to achieve both effectiveness and efficiency as we believe that this is an important strategy for all JC students as time is of the essence.
In Ace GP Tuition, we take things step-by-step, teaching students all the important skills required to master General Paper, whilst also giving every student the chance to nurture their ideas.
We don’t just solely focus on helping you get stellar grades and perfect scores. We make sure that we also hone the critical thinking skills outside the four walls of your classroom.
Looking for a fun, engaging, intriguing and inspiring team of GP tutors? Look no further — together with our proprietary techniques, wealth of resources including more than 100 Model Essays + Concise Topical Notes + Insights and Examples Bank + 80 AQ Model Answers and Paper 2 Practices, let us help you master the nuances of GP and life in our next class!
