The author concludes that while AI can significantly boost productivity and speed in essay writing, it cannot replace hard study and deep understanding of the texts. He also notes that private LLMs can be more useful than ChatGPT3.5 for this type of work due to their ability to identify relevant passages of text. He suggests that further research could potentially combine the capabilities of different AI tools to improve the essay writing process.
Key takeaways:
- The author used AI models to rewrite an undergraduate essay from 1996, comparing the experience and results with the original process and essay.
- While AI models like ChatGPT and Llama2:70b significantly reduced the time spent on research and writing, the author found that the quality of the AI-assisted essay was not as high as the original.
- Despite the limitations, the author believes that AI can greatly increase productivity for students, especially when combined with traditional study methods.
- The author also noted that AI models have a tendency to 'hallucinate' or generate plausible but false information, which can lead to wasted time and incorrect information in the essay.