Avinash Meetoo

Let us build a Smart Mauritius together

Science

Should teachers and students celebrate or be cautious of ChatGPT?

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I made a presentation on the implications of embracing ChatGPT in our daily life at e-MIG 2023 Conference organised by the Open University of Mauritius.

I spoke about Artificial Intelligence from the 50’s to our era, of the difference between narrow and general AI, on the AI strategy for Mauritius, on how to construct a neural network and how ChatGPT works. I spent some time exploring how AI can help students (and their teachers). Finally, I told the audience that we need well-rounded people, not only comfortable with science but also having soft-skills and an artistic sensibility.

For me, ChatGPT is just a tool. While it might seem to do things which a human being cannot do, this is not strictly true. But it is clear that tools such as ChatGPT are capable of (1) learning from a large corpus of knowledge and (2) answering questions very quickly. With such tools and with the right corpus of knowledge (hint: think everything about all the facts which are taught in primary, secondary and tertiary level), it is possible to envision a formidable digital assistant for students and teachers alike. Teachers will not have to explain the same things over and over again to students and will be able to concentrate on imparting experience and (useful) anecdotes. I would have loved that at the time I was a student…

I then participated in a panel chaired by Dr Perienen Appavoo (from the Open University) and the other panelists were Dr Upasana Singh (from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban) and Vrigesh Futta (from the Mauritius Emerging Technologies Council). The audience asked wonderful questions which we tried to answer in the best way possible. Of course, some were concerned about the use of ChatGPT by some students to cheat but the consensus was that it is more useful to focus on the half-full glass instead of the half-empty glass. Can ChatGPT actually allow teacher to create a new cohort of empowered students, better equipped to tackle the complexity of our world?

Time will tell.

Personally, I greatly enjoyed my time at e-MIG 2023 Conference. Thank you everyone.

How to Embrace Artificial Intelligence in Academia and the implications for universities

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On 12 July 2023, I gave a keynote presentation on “How to Embrace Artificial Intelligence in Academia and the implications for universities” during a workshop on “Artificial Intelligence and AI Text Generators such as ChatGPT” organised by the University of Technology, Mauritius.

I spoke about Research & development perspectives for academics and on the need to solve big and real problems instead of having fun with toys. I spoke about the need for more collaborative work, on the optimal use of technology and innovation as catalysts of development and on how technology and AI can be used in education.

There are many structural problems in Mauritius such as the fact that the population is ageing, that there is a lack of workforce and talent at all levels, and I put a lot of emphasis on the immense role universities have to play in creating the workforce of tomorrow and the future. Or else…

I also briefly touched upon jobs in entertainment which will abound in the future because of the amount of leisure time we have now.

There were many people attending, among which a lot of academic and non-academic staff of the University of Technology, Mauritius. There were also people from the education sector but from other institutions as well as a few foreign students.

The feedback I got at the end was very positive.

Dossier de Radio One sur l’Intelligence Artificielle à Maurice

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I participated in a radio programme on Artificial Intelligence and its benefits for Mauritius on 27 June 2023. This was during “Le dossier de Radio One”.

Here are some extracts of the radio programme where I speak about the recently launched Government chatbot, jobs of the Future in Technology and in Entertainment for our young people and how to properly train them, on the possibility for Mauritius to become No 1 in the world for a specific technology and, finally, on the proper way to do that, by adhering to a vision and being focused and methodical.