Princeton Professor Creates AI Teaching Assistant for Blockchain Course

Professor creates AI teaching assistant “Blockie” for advanced engineering course; Professor Pramod Viswanath of Princeton’s Electrical and Computer Engineering department has created an AI teaching assistant called “Blockie” for his advanced course on blockchain principles, which he describes as “ChatGPT on steroids.”

• Blockie was created by feeding ChatGPT all the lectures and assignments from the course, allowing it to provide personalized assistance to students.
• The AI assistant helps students overcome logistical barriers in their coding assignments and simplifies office hours, significantly assisting the human teaching assistants.

Contrasting approaches to AI in the classroom: While some Princeton professors have banned AI tools like ChatGPT, others are exploring their potential to enhance learning and support students.

• In one of Princeton’s largest introductory computer science courses, COS126, students are largely prohibited from using ChatGPT, as the professor believes reliance on chatbots can be harmful to learning in introductory courses.
• However, the professor hopes that the emerging generation of computer scientists will eventually contribute to making ChatGPT more efficient.

Broader context: Universities grapple with the implications of AI tools; The rise of large language models like ChatGPT has sparked debate across higher education about their potential impact on learning and academic integrity.

• In January 2023, Princeton’s Office of the Dean of the College and the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School sent a memo to all teaching faculty, providing guidance on engaging with AI technology in the classroom while adhering to the University’s Honor Code and Academic Regulations.
• Professors hold diverse perspectives on AI tools, with a general consensus that the technology is currently limited, producing text that may initially seem convincing but lacks depth.

Pioneering efforts at other institutions: Professor David Malan at Harvard University has created an AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT to assist students in his computer science course.

• The Harvard AI assistant can find bugs in student code, provide feedback on program design, explain unfamiliar lines of code or error messages, and answer individual questions, approximating the role of a human teaching assistant.
• This innovative approach inspired Professor Viswanath and his teaching assistant Tianle Cai to create Blockie for their advanced blockchain course at Princeton.

Analyzing the potential impact: The integration of AI teaching assistants in university classrooms raises important questions about the future of education and the role of technology in learning.

• While AI tools like Blockie can provide personalized support and alleviate the workload of human teaching assistants, it is crucial to consider the potential limitations and risks associated with relying on AI in education.
• As universities continue to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of AI, it will be essential to strike a balance between leveraging the benefits of these tools and maintaining the integrity and quality of the learning experience.