The San Fransisco-based Artificial Intelligence research organisation OpenAI has announced ChatGPT Edu, a version of ChatGPT developed for universities to responsibly leverage AI to students, researchers, faculty and campus operations. ChatGPT Edu, which GPT-4o powers, can reason across text and vision and uses advanced tools like data analysis. This offering involves enterprise-level security and control. Additionally, it is also affordable for educational institutions. 

On their page, OpenAI said that the significant reason for building ChatGPT Edu was the success of universities such as the University of Oxford, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas at Austin, Arizona State University, and Columbia University in the City of New York in deploying ChatGPT Enterprise. 

How the partnered universities leverage ChatGPT now 

ChatGPT can assist with a wide range of tasks on campus, including assessing resumes and offering individualised coaching to students, assisting researchers in writing grant applications and supporting teachers with feedback and grading. 

OpenAI stated that its university partners have found exciting ways to use AI to benefit their students, faculty, researchers, and campus operations. 

Columbia University professor Nabila El-Bassel (opens in a new window) is leading an effort to incorporate AI into community-based tactics to lower overdose deaths. Her team developed a GPT that turns weeks of research work into seconds by synthesising and analysing massive datasets to inform interventions. 

Through discussions with a GPT trained on the course materials, undergraduate and MBA students enrolled in Professor Ethan Mollick's courses at Wharton completed their final reflection projects. They reported that ChatGPT helped them reflect more thoroughly on the subject they had learned. 

Assistant professor, Christiane Reves of Arizona State University, is creating a personalised Language Buddies GPT that will allow students to converse in German at their language level and receive customised feedback. The GPT will improve students' communication skills and reduce faculty time spent on assessments. 

Perks of introducing AI into the new school year 

ChatGPT Edu was exclusively designed as an accessible option for various universities to deploy AI in their campuses at scale, stated OpenAI. 

Benefits of ChatGPT Edu include: 

• Access to GPT-4o, OpenAI's flagship model with exceptional coding, math, and text interpretation skills 
• Advanced features including web browsing, document summarising, and data analytics 
• The ability to create GPTs, or personalised ChatGPT versions, and distribute them within academic workspaces 
• There are much greater message limits than ChatGPT's free version 
• Enhanced language proficiency across both speed and quality, with support for more than 50 languages 
• Strong administrative controls, data protection, and security measures like group rights, SSO, SCIM 1, and GPT management 
• OpenAI models are not trained using conversations or data. 

Source: OpenAI

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