Hi, booksbydorothea blog readers!
This is a cross-post from my Substack: https://substack.com/@booksbydorothea. Please check it out and tell me your thoughts!
So this is not strictly a book blog issue, but it has to do with education, so I thought that I would share my thoughts!!
The local Los Angeles PBS station, LAist, published an article today about the Cal State University (CSU) system paying for an upgraded ChatGPT. The entire article is HERE.
The effort will cost the CSU nearly $17 million — even as the system faces a $2.3 billion budget gap. That gap persists despite a tuition increase and spending cuts that have meant fewer course offerings for students.
I think that this bet will not pay off! What a waste of money! Many individual CSU campuses are facing budget deficits for other reasons, such as declining enrollment because of the ICE raids, the FAFSA fiasco last year, and the increased cost of living, period.
Seriously, a $2.3 billion - that’s BILLION deficit, not million! What are these CSU leaders thinking?
Cal State LA, which is my alma mater, is laying off lecturers. Lecturers make around $71,000 full-time and $64,000 part-time, according to LAist (with Master’s and/or PhD degrees). Don’t we want more professors in the classroom actively teaching, instead of relying on ChatGPT? Additionally, the reduced class offerings include required core and required elective classes. That $17 million could go a long way toward decreasing the issues that these campuses, lecturers, and students are facing.
Critics say the cash-strapped system misspent millions of dollars. CSU leaders insist the expense is necessary to prepare students for a changing economy.
I’m, obviously, one of the critics. These students already have ChatGPT, as many of them use it for research and to write papers. It is the easiest way to cheat, and the professors don’t have the tools to stay on top of it!
We need to educate our students on how to think critically, reason, analyze, and research data. Additionally, knowing how to ethically and morally access ChatGPT is an important skill set. This education needs to start much younger than college-aged students - I would suggest 4th grade and older (the year of the dreaded “Mission Projects” in California).
Oh, and don’t get me started on how ChatGPT is affecting authors, artists, and other creatives. Plus, the impact on the environment through the use of water to cool the servers. What a mess!
Please let me know what you think! I am beyond irritated with this waste of resources, money, and time!
Dorothea 
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