OpenAI is starting first partnership with university

OpenAI launched its first collaboration with an institution of higher learning on Thursday. Arizona State University will receive complete access to ChatGPT Enterprise in February and intends to use it for research, coursework, tutoring, and other purposes.

ASU Chief Information Officer Lev Gonick told CNBC in an interview that the cooperation has been in the works for at least six months, starting with his initial visit to OpenAI’s headquarters. Prior to this, the university’s faculty and staff had already been using ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence applications.

The business tier of ChatGPT, known as ChatGPT Enterprise, made its debut in August and offers features like API credits, performance that is up to two times faster than prior versions, and unlimited access to GPT-4.

ASU intends to develop an AI teacher that is tailored to each student through the OpenAI partnership, covering both study topics and course-specific material. Gonick stated that a lot of higher education depends on STEM topics, calling them “the make-or-break subjects.” ASU’s largest subject, Freshman Composition, will also use the technology to offer writing assistance to students.

Also, ASU intends to employ ChatGPT Enterprise to create AI avatars that would serve as a “creative buddy” for students studying specific subjects. Examples of these avatars would be bots who can produce poetry or sing about biology.

According to report, ASU’s prompt engineering course has grown to be one of the most well-liked offerings for students overall, not just in the engineering department. With the availability of ChatGPT Enterprise, students will be free from usage caps. Additionally, he stated that he is certain that the tool offers a “private walled-garden environment” that will protect student privacy and intellectual property based on his conversations with OpenAI’s leadership.

Any prompts that the ASU community enters into ChatGPT “remain secure,” according to a joint statement from OpenAI and ASU, and OpenAI “does not use this data for its training models.”

A number of school districts, including those in Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York City, have outright banned AI chatbots like ChatGPT due to worries about cheating that have arisen in the past year.

“We’re going to be able to use the Enterprise version for research activities, data analysis, discovery-based work and so forth. There’s no cookbook for this yet, but the key piece is around the capabilities of moving away from the token economy,” According to report. “This is about using the tech in a mindset of abundance.”

OpenAI Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap stated in a release that the business is “keen to learn from ASU” and to increase ChatGPT’s usage by universities.

“As OpenAI begins to explore how to go to market or align a business for universities, they’re looking for a design partner, a thought partner, and I think that’s a significant measure why we’ve come together today to make this announcement,” according to report.