Cited by 421Artificial Intelligence in EducationArtificial Intelligence in Healthcare and EducationAI in Service Interactions

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 84 of the 84 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 97 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

War of the chatbots: Bard, Bing Chat, ChatGPT, Ernie and beyond. The new AI gold rush and its impact on higher education

Open access
Jürgen Rudolph, Shannon Tan, Samson Tan·2023·Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching

Abstract

Developments in the chatbot space have been accelerating at breakneck speed since late November 2022. Every day, there appears to be a plethora of news. A war of competitor chatbots is raging amidst an AI arms race and gold rush. These rapid developments impact higher education, as millions of students and academics have started using bots like ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard, Ernie and others for a large variety of purposes. In this article, we select some of the most promising chatbots in the English and Chinese-language spaces and provide their corporate backgrounds and brief histories. Following an up-to-date review of the Chinese and English-language academic literature, we describe our comparative method and systematically compare selected chatbots across a multi-disciplinary test relevant to higher education. The results of our test show that there are currently no A-students and no B-students in this bot cohort, despite all publicised and sensationalist claims to the contrary. The much-vaunted AI is not yet that intelligent, it would appear. GPT-4 and its predecessor did best, whilst Bing Chat and Bard were akin to at-risk students with F-grade averages. We conclude our article with four types of recommendations for key stakeholders in higher education: (1) faculty in terms of assessment and (2) teaching & learning, (3) students and (4) higher education institutions.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This article reviews the rapid chatbot arms race and systematically compares ChatGPT-3.5, ChatGPT/GPT-4, Bing Chat, and Bard on higher-education-relevant tasks. It finds no A- or B-level chatbot performers, with GPT-4 best and Bing Chat and Bard averaging F grades, then offers recommendations for faculty, students, and institutions.

Key findings

  • In a 15-question multi-disciplinary test, there were “no A-students and no B-students” among the selected chatbots; GPT-4 performed best, with ChatGPT-3.5 a close second, while Bing Chat and Bard were “akin to at-risk students with F-grade averages.”
  • GPT-4 scored the most A’s (four); ChatGPT-3.5 and Bing Chat each received an A only for their math answers, and Bard received no A’s.
  • The authors’ English-language literature review included 48 academic papers; their Chinese-language CNKI search reviewed 130 articles, of which 66 were directly related, plus seven research articles from ChatGPT/education searches.
  • The paper concludes with four sets of recommendations for higher education stakeholders: faculty assessment, teaching and learning, students, and higher education institutions.

Methods

  • The authors selected ChatGPT-3.5 (free), ChatGPT Plus based on GPT-4, Bing Chat, and Alphabet’s Bard for systematic comparison; they could not access Baidu’s Ernie, making the test “involuntarily US-centric.”
  • They used 15 questions from disciplines including sociology, business, mathematics, history, economics, philosophy, American literature, psychology, art history, and German literature, plus Chinese-language non-fiction, literature searches, and annotation tasks.
  • Responses were graded like student work using a US system: A = 90% and above, B = 80–89%, C = 70–79%, D = 60–69%, F = 0–59%; grading compared accuracy, comprehensiveness, and clarity, with labour divided by expertise.

Limitations

  • The authors state their snapshot and assessment are “necessarily preliminary” because chatbot developments continue at breakneck speed.
  • They could not access Ernie despite efforts, so the comparison does not represent both AI superpowers and is US-centric.
  • The text makes evident that no per-question marking rubrics were created, and the authors note they were not always experts on the 15 questions, though they felt sufficiently confident to assess them.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.37074/jalt.2023.6.1.23

Cites

84 of 84 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Figures

Figure 1 ChatGPT-3.5 on how to free a peanut butter sandwich from a VCR in the style of the King James Bible (Ptacek, 2022).
Figure 1 ChatGPT-3.5 on how to free a peanut butter sandwich from a VCR in the style of the King James Bible (Ptacek, 2022).CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 2 A conversation with Eliza. Source: ELIZA (2023).
Figure 2 A conversation with Eliza. Source: ELIZA (2023).CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 3 Tay (Tay, 2016).
Figure 3 Tay (Tay, 2016).CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 5 Timeline of major LLM-based chatbot launches.
Figure 5 Timeline of major LLM-based chatbot launches.CC-BY · From the PDF
Image 5
CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 7 Sundar Pichai meme (Maxwell & Langley, 2023).
Figure 7 Sundar Pichai meme (Maxwell & Langley, 2023).CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 8 ChatGPT my-wife-is-always-right meme (David, 2023).
Figure 8 ChatGPT my-wife-is-always-right meme (David, 2023).CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 9 Raphael's The school of Athens (2023).
Figure 9 Raphael's The school of Athens (2023).CC-BY · From the PDF

Verification

Claims the paper makes

79 Not checked yet · 52 Own result · 24 No basis given · 10 Own interpretation · 8 Own method

Verify all 97 references — free account

Show all 77 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 63
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 52
96 of 96
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The selected chatbots (ChatGPT-3.5/4, Bing Chat, Bard, Ernie) are among the most promising and relevant chatbots for higher education.

    “In this article, we select some of the most promising chatbots in the English and Chinese-language spaces and provide their corporate backgrounds and brief histories.”
    “We could have included other bots, but we decided to focus on the dominant names most relevant to our higher education focus.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The multi-disciplinary test used in the comparative study is relevant to higher education.

    “Following an up-to-date review of the Chinese and English-language academic literature, we describe our comparative method and systematically compare selected chatbots across a multi-disciplinary test relevant to higher education.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The comparative test is a valid measure of chatbot intelligence.

    “The results of our test show that there are currently no A-students and no B-students in this bot cohort, despite all publicised and sensationalist claims to the contrary.The much-vaunted AI is not yet that intelligent, it would appear.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    A yet-to-be-publicly-made-available version of GPT-4 can analyse images and provide lengthy descriptions.

    “For instance, a yet-to-be-publicly-made-available version of GPT-4 can analyse images and provide lengthy descriptions.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Texts that do not fit into one prompt can be input over multiple ones.

    “Texts that do not fit into one prompt can be input over multiple ones.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Tom's father remains alive throughout The Grapes of Wrath.

    “Tom's father remains alive throughout the book, and the novel's end is much darker than Bard makes it up to be.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The novel's end is much darker than Bard makes it up to be.

    “Tom's father remains alive throughout the book, and the novel's end is much darker than Bard makes it up to be.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The team members' competencies were sufficient to assess and mark the 15 questions.

    “Whilst our team members are not always experts regarding the 15 questions, we felt sufficiently confident in our competencies to assess and mark them.”
8 of 8

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Citations

Cites

Show all 81 references

Research works printed but not linked: 21

  1. Ali, J. K. M., Shamsan, M. A. A., Hezam, T. A., & Mohammed, A. A. (2023). Impact of ChatGPT on learning motivation: Teachers and students' voices. Journal of English Studies in Arabia Felix, 2(1), 41-49.
  2. Cao, C. (2020). 人工智能视野下高等教育改革与发展研究. 科 教导刊 (中旬刊). 前沿视角, [Research on higher education reform and development from the perspective of Artificial Intelligence. Journal of Science and Education, Frontier Perspective], 5, 5-6.
  3. Dwivedi, Y. K., Kshetri, N., Hughes, L., Slade, E. L., Jeyaraj, A., Kar, A. K., ... & Wright, R. (2023). "So what if ChatGPT wrote it?" Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice and policy. International Journal of Information Management, 71, 102642.
  4. Feng, Y. (2023). ChatGPT在教育领域的应用价值、潜在伦理 风险与治理路径. [The application value, potential ethical risks and governance path of ChatGPT in the field of education]. DOI: 10.16075/j.cnki.cn31-1220/g4.2023.04.013 · DOI
  5. Gao, C. A., Howard, F. M., Markov, N. S., Dyer, E. C., Ramesh, S., Luo, Y., & Pearson, A. T. (2022). Comparing scientific abstracts generated by ChatGPT to original abstracts using an artificial intelligence output detector, plagiarism detector, and blinded human reviewers. bioRxiv, 2022-12.
  6. Geerling, W., Mateer, G. D., Wooten, J., & Damodaran, N. (2023). Is ChatGPT smarter than a student in principles of economics?. SSRN 4356034.
  7. Jiao, J., Chen, L., & Wu, W. (2023). Educational issues triggered by ChatGPT: Possible impacts and counter measures. Chinese Journal of ICT in Education, 29(3), 19-32. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-8454.2023.03.003 · DOI
  8. Li, Z. (2023b). The nature of ChatGPT and its impact on education. Chinese Journal of ICT in Education, 29(3), 12-18. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-8454.2023.03.002 · DOI
  9. Lu, J. Z. (2023). ChatGPT现象与面向未来的人才培育. [ChatGPT and its potential in talent acquisition]. China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House, 42-43.
  10. Marcus, G., & David, E. (2023, January 10). Large language models like ChatGPT say the darnedest things. Communications of the ACM, https://cacm.acm.org/blogs/ blog-cacm/268575-large-language-models-like-chatgpt- say-the-darnedest-things/fulltext
  11. Mirrlees, T., & Alvi, S. (2020). EdTech Inc. Selling, automating and globalizing higher education in the digital age. Routledge.
  12. Nisar, S., & Aslam, M. S. (2023). Is ChatGPT a good tool for TCM students in studying pharmacology?. SSRN 4324310.
  13. Pan, D. (2021). 人工智能和高等教育的融合发展: 变革与引 领. 高等教育研究, [The integrated development of artificial intelligence and higher education: Change and leadership. Higher Education Research], 42(2), 40-46.
  14. Shaw, G. B. (2017). Pygmalion (Complete Illustrated Edition).
  15. Steinbeck, J. (2006). The grapes of wrath. Penguin.
  16. Sun, N. (2023). Reform of higher legal education in the age of artificial intelligence. Journal of Shanxi Datong University(Social Science Edition), 37(1), 147-151.
  17. Wang, Y., Wang, D., Liang, W., & Liu, C. (2023). Ethical risks and avoidance approaches of ChatGPT in educational application. Open Education Research, 29(2), 26-34.
  18. Jürgen Rudolph, Shannon Tan and Samson Tan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
  19. Wood, P. (2023, March 2). Oxford and Cambridge ban ChatGPT over plagiarism fears but other universities choose to embrace AI bot. Inews, https://inews.co.uk/news/ oxford-cambridge-ban-chatgpt-plagiarism-universities- 2178391?
  20. Wu, D., Li, H., & Chen, X. (2023). Analysis on the influence of artificial intelligence generic large model on education application. Open Education Research, 29(2), 19-25.
  21. Zhang, H. F., Chen, Z. F., & Xu, S. J. (2022). 人工智能赋能高等 教育模式新变革. 软件导刊. [Artificial intelligence empowers new reforms in higher education models.] Software Guide, 21(11), 166-171.

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Metadata

Authors
Rudolph, J., Tan, S., & Tan, S.
Venue
Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching
Published
2023-04-25
Volume
6
Issue
1
ISSN
2591-801X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4366989878
Cited by
421
References
81
Citations by year
2026: 43 · 2025: 125 · 2024: 167 · 2023: 84
FWCI
98.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Artificial Intelligence in Education
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Health Informatics › Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › AI in Service Interactions
Keywords
chatbots, large language models, ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Google Bard, ERNIE Bot, GPT-4, higher education, artificial intelligence in education, academic assessment, generative AI, AI arms race

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