AI in the News

• Debate on Ethical Implications:

Example Article: "AI shown to dramatically speed protein engineering"

Activity: Divide students into two groups to debate the ethical implications of using AI in genetic research. One group can argue for the benefits of AI in accelerating genetic discoveries in engineering proteins and personalized medicine, while the other group can discuss potential privacy concerns and the ethical considerations of genetic manipulation.

• Critical Thinking and Application Analysis:

Example Article: "‘Thirsty’ AI: Training ChatGPT Required Enough Water to Fill a Nuclear Reactor’s Cooling Tower, Study Finds"

"Popular large language models (LLMs) likeOpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard are energy-intensive, requiring massive server farms to provide enough data to train the powerful programs. Cooling those same data centers also makes the AI chatbots incredibly thirsty. New research suggests training for GPT-3 alone consumed 185,000 gallons (700,000 liters) of water. An average user’s conversational exchange with ChatGPT basically amounts to dumping a large bottle of fresh water out on the ground, according to a new study. Given the chatbot’s unprecedented popularity, researchers fear all those spilled bottles could take a troubling toll on water supplies, especially amid historic droughts and looming environmental uncertainty in the US." 

Activity: Assign students to analyze the case study presented in the article. Biology students can discuss the potential impacts on the environment, wildlife, and human populations as a result of training AI models such as ChatGPT compared to the potential advancements, discovereis, and economic implications of AI-driven discoveries. This can lead to a deeper understanding of the role of AI in modern learning and the hidden costs associated with it.

• Research Project Inspiration:

Example Article: "‘Thirsty’ AI: Training ChatGPT Required Enough Water to Fill a Nuclear Reactor’s Cooling Tower, Study Finds"

Activity: Use the article as a starting point for a research project. Students can explore various AI models used to predict climate change effects on ecosystems, evaluate their accuracy, and propose innovative ways to enhance these models. Ethics of using AI LLM's to study the question of climate change based on the use of AI can be quite interesting! This project can culminate in a presentation or a detailed report.