A new concern within the education and writing community is ChatGPT, an AI that mimics the human aspect of writing. 

But what makes this new gadget so frightening? If it helps students with their classwork, why not let them use it? 

ChatGPT has become a big problem with teachers trying to determine if what students write is written from them or from AI. This is a growing concern because the algorithm writes the essay for them. 

A quick Google search and I was able to find ChatGPT and tried it out for myself to see if the claims about teachers’ fears of cheating were true. I typed in the search bar “write an essay on the themes of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Not long after I saw a short six-paragraph essay on the themes of the play. 

Wanting to hear someone else’s opinion on the matter of the writing, I contacted Janet Kiernicki, a former school teacher, and asked her to read the essay. 

“I didn’t know that the essay was written by a computer and thought that you [Taylor] wrote it,” said Kiernick. 

This is where the fear of cheating comes in as other school teachers try to find ways to beat the system instead of running away from it. However, other teachers embrace the ChatGPTAI. 

In an article written by PBS, elementary school teacher Donnie Piercey says that he is instructing his students to figure out which essay is the bot and which isn’t. He calls this game “Find the Bot.” 

Piercey also says that teachers shouldn’t try to run away from this as AI is the future. He does share the same concern for cheating, but he’s less worried about it from elementary students than high school students. 

Other teachers have expressed the same outlook as Piercey but also share some concerns. Steve Darlow, a technology trainer from Santa Rose County District Schools in Florida, wishes that ChatGPT was “…uninvented but it happened,” saying that there isn’t much we can do about technology evolving.

He also shares how the AI can be used to help teachers “making amazing lesson plans for substitutes [and] helping grade papers” (Gecker). While it is interesting to see another perspective on the controversy regarding ChatGPT, it is still something that should be on people’s radars. 

ChatGPT, although mostly used to help write essays to get an easy A, has its setbacks. As discussed earlier, cheating on papers is the most common fear of teachers but the newest features from the website say that the algorithm can now “admit its mistakes [and] challenge incorrect premises” (Open AI). The AI is now able to further develop an understanding of how to write answers in a format that sounds more human, making it even harder for people to distinguish between human writing and computers. 

ChatGPT on the themes of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play written by William Shakespeare, which tells the story of the events leading up to the marriage of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. The play is a comedy that explores themes of love, magic, dreams, and the nature of reality.

One of the main themes of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the nature of love. Shakespeare portrays love as a force that is powerful, irrational, and often unpredictable. The play shows how love can make people do crazy things, as the characters become entangled in a web of romantic confusion. The play portrays love in many different forms: romantic love, parental love, and even the love between friends. Shakespeare shows that love can be both beautiful and ugly, and that it is often difficult to control.

Another theme of the play is the power of magic. The characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are subject to the whims of the fairy world, where magic is a powerful force that can change reality. The mischievous Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is a fairy who uses his magical powers to create chaos and confusion among the humans. The play suggests that magic is a force that can be both helpful and harmful, and that it is important to understand its power.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream also explores the theme of dreams. The play suggests that dreams are a window into the subconscious mind, and that they reveal our deepest desires and fears. The characters in the play experience dreams that are vivid and surreal, blurring the line between reality and fantasy. The play suggests that dreams can be both enlightening and confusing, and that they are an important part of the human experience.

Finally, the play explores the nature of reality. Shakespeare suggests that reality is not always what it seems, and that our perceptions can be easily manipulated. The play blurs the line between reality and fantasy, suggesting that the two are not always distinct. The characters in the play experience a world that is filled with magic and dreams, where the rules of reality are constantly being rewritten.

In conclusion, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play that explores many different themes, including love, magic, dreams, and the nature of reality. Shakespeare suggests that these themes are interconnected, and that they are all part of the human experience. The play shows that life is often unpredictable and chaotic, but that it is important to embrace the beauty and wonder of the world around us.