In its spring update, OpenAI showed off its newest model:GPT-4o. This model brings a lot of the power of GPT-4 to the free version of ChatGPT, allowing those who don’t have a paid subscription to access some of the more powerful features that ChatGPT can offer, such as the ability togenerate art with readable textrather than nonsense.
This obviously has consequences for parents, both good and bad.
5 new GPT-4o features making ChatGPT better than ever
From real-time voice interaction to vision capabilities and multilingual support, we’re a step closer to Star Trek-style conversational AI.
The update showcased the impressive conversationalChatGPT-4o’s capabilities, and also demonstrated how you can use ChatGPT-4o to help you solve a math equation by taking an image of the equation and asking for hints on how to find a solution. This obviously has consequences for parents, both good and bad.
Kids are already using ChatGPT to complete written assignments for them, with various levels of success, so what will happen now that solving a math assignment is as simple as snapping a photo? As a parent, here’s how I feel about ChatGPT-4o being able to help my kids learn math.
What can GPT-4o do?
Solving math problems from images
In its spring update demonstration, ChatGPT was shown the equation3x+1=4written down on a sheet of paper. The chatbot was then asked what equation was written down, and the correct equation wasextracted from the image.
ChatGPT was then asked what the first step would be to try to solve this equation. The response was to get all the terms with x on one side, and all the constants on the other side. It then asks:What do you think we should do with that +1?
The host subtracted one from both sides to leave3x=3. ChatGPT then gave another hint:You have 3x, and you want to find the value of x. Think about what operation would undo multiplication.After incorrectly guessing subtraction, ChatGPT gave another hint:Think of the opposite of multiplication.The host was then able to complete the solution by dividing both sides by 3.
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Why GPT-4o’s math abilities are good for parents
ChatGPT knows math, so you don’t have to
They can ask ChatGPT for help with what to do next, without being spoon-fed the answer.
Solving written equationsisn’t something completely new. But as you could see from the demonstration, ChatGPT-4o wasn’t just able to provide a solution for a math question. It was able to provide hints that could help to figure out what to try next. When the host gave an incorrect suggestion (to subtract instead of divide), ChatGPT broke the question down even further. At no point did ChatPGT tell the host what to do until he’d made the correct suggestion himself.
As alearning tool for kids, this is great. When they’re working through a question, they can ask ChatGPT for help with what to do next, without being spoon-fed the answer. It means that they get an understanding of what they’re doing, rather than simply copying down a solution from a screen without knowing why those steps are required.
Even for parents with a math background, there may be some challenging math questions from your older kids that you just don’t remember how to solve.
I’m good at math, so helping my children with this type of question wouldn’t be a problem, but many parents will have hated math at school, or simply not remember enough of it to confidently help their kids with this type of question. In these situations, having ChatGPT lend a helping hand is great for the kids and great for the parents. Even for parents with a math background, there may be some challenging math questions from your older kids that you just don’t remember how to solve.
ChatGPT has the potential to be a really useful learning tool and can certainly take the pressure off parents having toknow enough mathto be able to do their kids' homework.
I tried NotebookLM with Gemini 1.5 Pro and it’s better than ChatGPT
I didn’t have to guess where the AI pulled information from, which made fact-checking and research so much easier.
Cheating has never been easier
Well, let’s start with the obvious. Unless you physically stand watch over your child while they’re doing their math assignments, you have no way of knowing if their work is all their own, if they had help from ChatGPT, or whether they got ChatGPT orany other AIto do the whole thing. There is the risk that your child will get AI to do all of their assignments for them and never learn a thing. Unfortunately, when it comes to examinations, ChatGPT isn’t going to be allowed.
Another big issue that didn’t come up in the demonstration is that ChatGPT can still get stuff wrong. I had a play around with the new ChatGPT-4o and asked it to solve a differential calculus problem. It was able to reach the correct solution, but to do so it had to use the product rule. The definition it gave for the product rule was completely wrong and would have led to a completely different solution. There’s a clear danger that apps like ChatGPT could actively teach our kids the wrong things, or at best leave them severely confused.
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What do educators think?
Great in theory, but needs to pass the kid test
I spoke to Pocket-lint’s resident educator and librarian,Kenzie Davison, who has recently spent time in an elementary classroom helping students practice for their fifth-grade state exams. Davison had a very interesting take on the ChatGPT-4o demonstration.
Her first concern was that although the chat seemed to emulate a typical tutoring session, we were actually watching an adult with a math background and a wealth of experienceusing ChatGPT. It’s unlikely that the conversation would have gone as smoothly with your typical kid.
Her second point was that children learn by asking questions, and they often don’t ask the ‘right’ question the first, second, or even third time. You need an understanding of the topic before you know what the right questions to ask are, and many kids may not know where to begin.
The host does interrupt ChatGPT when things go awry here and there during the demo to remind ChatGPT of context or clarify what was actually being asked. But from her experience, the interruptions with kids would come more frequently and a touch less elegantly when actually tutoring. She wonders if ChatGPT holds up to that kind of feedback and still gives helpful suggestions? Or does it tend to fall apart?
Ultimately, despite it being very helpful and interesting, she wants to see a live demo with a fifth-grade student or a group of students before she jumps on board.
Overall, she felt that while it was an impressive display, in its current form it would likely cause more frustration than a real tutoring session, as it lacks the contextual awareness that teachers bring. Ultimately, despite it being very helpful and interesting, she wants to see a live demo with a fifth-grade student or a group of students before she jumps on board.
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What can parents do to stop cheating with AI?
Don’t dismantle their phone just yet
This risk of kids using tech to cheat on their assignments isn’t anything new. Websites such asWolfram Alphahave been able to provide step-by-step solutions to math problems for years and are easily accessible on any phone. There’s nothing inherent in ChatGPT-4o that allows your child to cheat any better than they could before. Even before smartphones, kids could copy someone else’s work without ever having to understand it.
The big difference is thatusing ChatGPTcan actually help your child work through a problem without being given the entire solution at once, which could be genuinely useful for some children. It can offer hints and tips even when you can’t.
However, the risk of cheating is still there. There are some strategies that can help, such as asking your child to explain their solution to you. If they can’t, it’s highly likely it’s not their own work. Do this a few times, and they may begin to give up on trying to cheat.
Using ChatGPT can actually help your child work through a problem without being given the entire solution at once, which could be genuinely useful for some children. It can offer hints and tips even when you can’t.
If they can explain it to you, however, then even better. Teaching someone else how to solve a problem is one of the best ways to reinforce learning, and it can really encourage your kids if they think they’re teaching you something you don’t already know, because who doesn’t like to get one up on their parents?
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This is just the beginning
AI ain’t going away
The rise ofgenerative AIhas been explosive, to say the least, and it doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. Models are only going to get more powerful and more accessible, so trying to fight against the use of AI by your kids is only going to end one way.
I believe ChatGPT-4o and whatever comes next can potentially help rather than hinder your kids' education.
Ultimately, if you’re honest with your kids about how it can be used to cheat, but can also be used to help you learn, and you make it clear that you’re going to be getting them to explain their work occasionally, then I believe ChatGPT-4o and whatever comes next can potentially help rather than hinder your kids' education.
