生成式人工智能改变了英语作业。接下来是数学
CHATGPT 已经自从OpenAI于 2022 年底公开推出生成式 AI聊天机器人以来，人工智能给课堂带来了巨大破坏，并改变了教师编写作业的方式。学校管理人员争先恐后地试图检测人工智能生成的论文，反过来，学生们也争先恐后地想办法掩盖他们的合成作文。但通过专注于写作业，教育工作者让另一个巨大的转变发生在外围：学生也更频繁地使用人工智能来完成数学作业。
目前，全国各地的高中生和大学生都在尝试使用免费的智能手机应用程序，利用生成式人工智能帮助他们完成数学作业。目前校园里最受欢迎的应用程序之一是Gauth 应用程序，下载量达数百万次。它归字节跳动所有，字节跳动也是 TikTok 的母公司。
Gauth 应用程序于 2019 年首次推出，主要关注数学，但很快扩展到其他学科，如化学和物理。它的相关性不断提高，并在今年早些时候在教育类别的智能手机下载列表中名列前茅。学生们似乎很喜欢它。凭借数十万条主要为正面的评论，Gauth 在Apple App Store和Google Play Store上获得了 4.8 星的好评。
下载应用程序后，学生只需将智能手机对准家庭作业问题（打印或手写），然后确保所有相关信息都在图片裁剪范围内。然后，Gauth 的 AI 模型会生成分步指南，通常还会提供正确答案。
该应用程序在解决更高级别的数学问题（如微积分 2 问题）方面遇到的困难更大，因此，在教育历程中，学生进一步深入可能会发现，当前这一代 AI 家庭作业解决应用程序的实用性较低。
是的，以自然语言处理为基础的生成式人工智能工具在处理复杂的数学方程式时无法生成准确的答案。但研究人员正致力于提高人工智能在这一领域的能力，而入门级高中数学课程很可能完全在当前人工智能家庭作业应用程序的可及范围内。威尔甚至写过谷歌 DeepMind 的研究人员对最近测试数学大型语言模型AlphaProof的结果欣喜若狂，该模型在今年的国际数学奥林匹克竞赛中展示了一些问题。
在本文发表之前，当《连线》杂志通过电子邮件联系字节跳动的发言人时，他并没有回答有关 Gauth 应用程序的一系列问题。
人们很容易关注 Gauth 的局限性，但如今数百万学生的口袋里都有一款免费应用，它可以指导他们在几秒钟内以相当高的准确度解决各种数学问题。几年前，这种概念对于学生来说几乎是不可想象的。
您可能会认为，Gauth 为那些无法接受优质教育或处理信息的速度比老师课程慢的学生提供了便利。这是在课堂上使用 ChatGPT 等人工智能工具的支持者所持的观点。只要学生们都到达同一个目的地，谁会在乎他们在旅途中走了哪条路呢？这难道不是我们可用的数学工具的下一个进化吗？我们从算盘转向图形计算器，那么为什么不把生成式人工智能视为另一个关键的进步呢？
我认为教师在课堂上精心使用人工智能进行特定课程或为学生提供更个性化的练习题很有价值。但我无法忘记，如果学生过度依赖这个应用程序，它可能会削弱未来几代人的批判性思维能力——而这种能力往往是通过努力完成令人沮丧的数学课和艰难的家庭作业获得的。（不过，作为一名英语专业的学生，我完全理解这一点。）
如果教育领导者继续将人工智能生成的论文视为可能破坏当前教学方法的主要威胁，那么他们就错过了整体情况。在人工智能时代，也许以课堂数学练习为中心，而不是在课外完成艰巨的作业，可以继续促进积极的学习成果。
如果 Gauth 及其类似的应用最终导致高中生数学作业的消亡，那么大批学生将松一口气。家长和教育工作者将如何应对？我不太确定。这仍然是一个悬而未决的问题，而且 Gauth 也无法给出答案。
Generative AI Transformed English Homework. Math Is Next
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CHATGPT HAS ALREADY wreaked havoc on classrooms and changed how teachers approach writing homework, since OpenAIpublicly launched the generative AI chatbot in late 2022. School administrators rushed to try to detect AI-generated essays, and in turn, students scrambled to find out how to cloak their synthetic compositions. But by focusing on writing assignments, educators let another seismic shift take place in the periphery: students using AI more often to complete math homework too.
Right now, high schoolers and college students around the country are experimenting with free smartphone appsthat help complete their math homework using generative AI. One of the most popular options on campus right now is the Gauth app, with millions of downloads. It’s owned by ByteDance, which is also TikTok’s parent company.
The Gauth app first launched in 2019 with a primary focus on mathematics, but soon expanded to other subjects as well, like chemistry and physics. It’s grown in relevance, and neared the top of smartphone download lists earlier this year for the education category. Students seem to love it. With hundreds of thousands of primarily positive reviews, Gauth has a favorable 4.8 star rating in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
All students have to do after downloading the app is point their smartphone at a homework problem, printed or handwritten, and then make sure any relevant information is inside of the image crop. Then Gauth’s AI model generates a step-by-step guide, often with the correct answer.
From our testing on high-school-level algebra and geometry homework samples, Gauth’s AI tool didn’t deliver A+ results and particularly struggled with some graphing questions. It performed well enough to get around a low B grade or a high C average on the homework we fed it. Not perfect, but also likely good enough to satisfy bored students who'd rather spend their time after school doing literally anything else.
The app struggled more on higher levels of math, like Calculus 2 problems, so students further along in their educational journey may find less utility in this current generation of AI homework-solving apps.
Yes, generative AI tools, with a foundation in natural language processing, are known for failing to generate accurate answers when presented with complex math equations. But researchers are focused on improving AI’s abilities in this sector, and an entry-level high school math class is likely well within the reach of current AI homework apps. Will has even written about how researchers at Google DeepMind are ecstatic about recent results from testing a math-focused large language model, called AlphaProof, on problems shown at this year’s International Math Olympiad.
To be fair, Gauth positions itself as an AI study company that’s there to “ace your homework” and help with difficult problems, rather than a cheating aid. The company even goes so far as to include an “Honor Code” on its website dictating proper usage. “Resist the temptation to use Gauth in ways that go against your values or school’s expectations,” reads the company’s website. So basically, Gauth implicitly acknowledges impulsive teenagers may use the app for much more than the occasional stumper, and wants them to pinkie promise that they’ll behave.
Prior to publication, a spokesperson for ByteDance did not answer a list of questions about the Gauth app when contacted by WIRED over email.
It’s easy to focus on Gauth’s limitations, but millions of students now have a free app in their pocket that can walk them through various math problems in seconds, with decent accuracy. This concept would be almost inconceivable to students from even a few years ago.
You could argue that Gauth promotes accessibility for students who don’t have access to quality education or who process information at a slower pace than their teacher’s curriculum. It’s a perspective shared by proponents of using AI tools, like ChatGPT, in the classroom. As long as the students all make it to the same destination, who cares what path they took on the journey? And isn’t this just the next evolution in our available math tools? We moved on from the abacus to the graphing calculator, so why not envision generative AI as another critical step forward?
I see value in teachers thoughtfully employing AI in the classroom for specific lessons or to provide students with more personalized practice questions. But I can’t get out of my head how this app, if students overly rely on it, could hollow out future generations’ critical thinking skills—often gleaned from powering through frustrating math classes and tough homework assignments. (I totally get it, though, as an English major.)
Educational leaders are missing the holistic picture if they continue to focus on AI-generated essays as the primary threat that could undermine the current approach to teaching. Instead of arduous assignments to complete outside of class, maybe centering in-class math practice could continue to facilitate positive learning outcomes in the age of AI.
If Gauth and apps like it eventually lead to the demise of math homework for high schoolers, throngs of students will breathe a collective sigh of relief. How will parents and educators respond? I’m not so sure. That remains an open question, and one for which Gauth can’t calculate an answer yet either.
