ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence

You may be aware of, or indeed be using, new Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies that have become publicly available. One of these technologies in particular, ChatGPT, has received a lot of media coverage this year.

At the start of Term 1, 2023, the Department of Education restricted access to ChatGPT in Victorian government schools. This was because the terms of service restricted access to those aged 18 years or over. 

Those terms have now been changed to permit access for those aged 13 years and over. As a result, the interim restriction on ChatGPT has been lifted and secondary school aged students who are at least 13 years old can now access these technologies (the current restriction on use with primary school-aged students will remain in place).

We will develop a working group to determine the use of these tools and our teaching and learning program. We will ensure our compliance with all department policies, including those in relation to the safe and responsible use of technology, and privacy and information sharing.

Please remind your child that they should not enter any personal information such as name, age or address into generative AI platforms they might be using at home as this can be a risk to their privacy. This is because content typed into some generative AI tools may be used and reused by the platform and its users.

One area of concern with generative AI tools relates to student assessment. We are aware of these concerns and will use existing assessment policies and processes to understand what students know about the topics being taught and ensure that assessments are completed without undue assistance.

The Department of Education is working with the non-government sector authorities and other state and territory education departments on the use of generative AI tools in schools. We will provide any updates as the term and year progress.

If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please get in touch.