Application of artificial intelligence technologies in historical education

Os'kin Arkadzi ORCID: 0000-0001-5102-6698 PhD in Technical Science PhD in Engineering, Associate Professor, DEPARTMENT OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, Euphrosyne Polotskaya State University of Polotsk 211440, Belarus, Vitebsk region, Novopolotsk, Druzhby str., 9 a.oskin@psu.by

I. Introduction.

On November 30, 2022, OpenAI opened free access to its main development – a chatbot with artificial intelligence working in an interactive mode. The bot was named ChatGPT (English Generative Pre–trained Transformer or Russian generative pre-trained transformer).

ChatGPT quickly attracted attention with its extensive capabilities for writing code, creating original texts, generating plans and scripts, etc., showing creative abilities characteristic of natural intelligence. The popularity of the bot grew, and two months after its launch, in early February 2023, the number of its active users reached 100 million people. A historical record was set for the growth rate and the number of visitors.

In Russia and Belarus, access to the service is limited. However, the high popularity of the service has led to the emergence of a significant number of third-party applications that use the ChatGPT API for their work and solve similar tasks. It is such applications that we will consider in this paper.

We analyzed more than 30 software products and focused on the following three applications.

1.   

II. Phind.com ^[1]

Phind.com – a search engine that uses artificial intelligence and an interface with ChatGPT to efficiently search for information. Resource creators Phind.com they position it as a search engine for developers. Figure 1 shows the home page Phind.com .

Fig. 1. Search engine home page phind.com

The resource has a concise design. In the center of the screen there is a large rectangular field with the inscription "Ask anything" (Ask anything). The text of the request is entered in this field. Under the field for entering a search query, there are three switches that allow you to select the search mode. Turning on the first switch, "Expert", puts the system into expert search mode. The most powerful search model is used, while the response waiting time increases as the search speed decreases. When the "Concise" mode is enabled, the answer will be more concise, but fast. The "Creative" mode includes the generation of the response by the artificial intelligence of the system itself, without using the results of a Web search.

The system remembers the current user and stores his history (or Thread – Thread) of requests. You can manage requests using the menu located on the right side of the screen. There are three items in the menu: "New Thread", "Clear Threads" and "Customize search". The first menu item allows you to create a new thread, the second – to clear all threads, and the third – to rank search results. The filters used for ranking provide the user with the opportunity to select a language, include/exclude a group of domains from the search, include/exclude individual sites or groups of sites from the search, etc.

At the same time, as our experience with the resource has shown, the best results are obtained if English is used as the search language. We would like to draw readers' attention to the fact that requests and responses to them were translated using the Google Teanslate service. We have not edited the translations. The spelling of the application has been saved. In all the examples below, the user's requests will be highlighted in bold, and the system's responses in italics.

Query: How to use ChatGPT in the course "History of Belarus"?

1st option. All search mode switches are in the "Off" position.

System response ^[1]:

To use ChatGPT in the course "History of Belarus", students can use this tool in several ways. ChatGPT is a chatbot from OpenAI that allows users to "talk" to it in a way that mimics a natural conversation. Thanks to a deep understanding of the functions, limitations and risks associated with generative AI, it becomes a powerful tool for saving time and energy. Here are some ways to include ChatGPT in coursework:(https://www.coursera.org/articles/chatgpt)

1. One of the most exciting uses of ChatGPT for students is as a tool to identify simpler or alternative ways to solve complex course tasks. For example, ChatGPT has a huge collection of shortcuts and techniques for solving a wide range of complex STEM tasks. From basic physics and mathematics to complex engineering problems, ChatGPT can offer simpler and proven ways to solve complex problems and find accurate solutions with much less effort. Students can request a quick way to solve a problem from ChatGPT, and an artificial intelligence chatbot will generate the results. However, students should always clarify whether the abbreviation applies to all cases of the problem. If a student has a preferred way to make learning easier for them, ChatGPT can help present complex problems in a way that makes it easier for them to understand them.(https://medium.com/geekculture/how–to–use–chatgpt–for–teaching–9b2237bdfc67)

2. Another way to use ChatGPT is to stay ahead of the learning curve. Students can provide the AI chatbot with a course plan or a topic they are currently studying in class, and ChatGPT will create the most likely lessons that will be next, and some tips to help them prepare for upcoming classes. Students can also ask the chatbot to generate some questions that can be asked in class. It's a great way to get positive feedback in class and prepare for what's coming next.(https://medium.com/geekculture/how–to–use–chatgpt–for–teaching–9b2237bdfc67)

3. ChatGPT is impressively good at summarizing texts and extracting key points from voluminous texts. It can be an incredibly useful reading companion, helping students understand large texts without reading them in their entirety. Instead, students can copy the text in parts, send it to ChatGPT and ask to make a summary of it or highlight key points from it. However, ChatGPT is not intended for summaries by default. There is a limit on the number of words you can throw at it at a time. In addition, ChatGPT will most likely respond to any text you send it, without waiting for the entire text to be summarized. To fix this, use the following hint: "Whenever I provide a hint, just answer with a dot (dot). Keep doing this until I ask for a summary of the entire text provided." After using the hint, divide the text that students want to summarize into parts and send it in full to ChatGPT. After providing the entire text, invite him to extract a key point or create a summary of a certain length from the provided text.(https://www.makeuseof.com/how–students–use–chatgpt–in–school/)

4. ChatGPT is very impressive for creating creative works such as letters, essays and academic papers. Although some students have chosen the rather unethical part of outsourcing the entire ChatGPT writing process, this tool can be used to validate and improve what they have written rather than asking a chatbot to write it from scratch. One of the problems of using ChatGPT to write essays of any kind is that it can make up figures, events, entities and concepts and present them as facts. On the other hand, if students are honestly working on research and content creation, ChatGPT can help them polish it by providing them with something interesting and fact-based.(https://www.makeuseof.com/how–students–use–chatgpt–in–school/)

It is important to note that while ChatGPT is undoubtedly an impressive learning assistant, it is still under development. Using ChatGPT as the only source of information in an academic setting is not recommended; a chatbot cannot separate fact from fiction. While students are encouraged to make the best use of ChatGPT for learning, they should use it with caution. (https://medium.com/geekculture/chatgpt–building–an–online–course–using–ai–31020827d76f

2nd varivnt. The "Expert" switch is in the "On" position, the other two switches are in the "Off" position.

System response ^[1]:

To use ChatGPT in the course of the history of Belarus, you can use the AI model to provide detailed explanations, summaries and answers to questions related to various historical periods and events in Belarus. Here are some approaches to integrating ChatGPT into the learning process:

Generalization of historical periods or events: Use ChatGPT to create brief reviews of specific periods, such as the BSSR from 1945 to 1990, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth or the period of Alexander Lukashenko.

Generating historical context: ChatGPT can help provide context for specific events, such as, for example, the Chernobyl tragedy.

Answers to students' questions: Use ChatGPT to answer students' questions about the history of Belarus.

Create Historical Quizzes or tests: Create quizzes or tests based on the course content to assess students' understanding of the material.

Don't forget to check the information generated by ChatGPT, as it may not always give accurate or complete answers. Use it as an additional tool to improve the educational process and involve students in the study of the history of Belarus.

 3rd option. The "Creative" switch is in the "On" position, the other two switches are in the "Off" position.

System response^[1]:

ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can be used in different ways, including in the course "History of Belarus". Here are the steps to use ChatGPT in the course of the history of Belarus:

1.      Determine the purpose: Before using ChatGPT in the course of the history of Belarus, it is important to determine the purpose of its use. Do you use it to create discussion topics, to answer students' questions, or to promote group projects? Knowing the purpose of using ChatGPT will help you determine how best to use it.

2.      Choose a platform. There are various platforms that you can use to access ChatGPT, including GPT–3 Playground, OpenAI API or Hugging Face. Choose the platform that best suits your needs and that is most convenient for you to use.

3.      Train the model: After you have chosen the platform, you will need to train the ChatGPT model to recognize specific topics related to the course "History of Belarus". You can do this by providing the model with relevant historical texts, documents, or articles. This will help the model generate more accurate answers to students' questions or topics for discussion.

4. Configure the interface. Depending on the platform you choose, you may need to configure the interface for students to access ChatGPT. It can be a chatbot, a web interface or an API. Make sure that the interface is user-friendly and easy to navigate.

5.      Provide instructions. Before using ChatGPT in your course, give students clear instructions on how to use it. This may include recommendations on how to ask questions, how to access the interface, and what types of answers to expect.

6.      Track usage. When students use ChatGPT in your course, monitor their usage to make sure it is used appropriately and effectively. This will help you identify areas where students may need additional support or guidance.

Thus, the use of Phind.com The course "History of Belarus" can become a powerful tool for facilitating discussion, answering students' questions and generating new ideas. Following these steps, you can effectively integrate Phind.com in your course and improve the learning process for your students.

III. Talkai.info ^[2] 

Talkai.info – this is another Internet service with which you can access the ChatGPT dialog.  Figure 2 shows the homepage of this resource.

Fig.2 Home page of the service talkai.info

Further on this page it is explained what ChatGPT is, then it is suggested to choose one of the eleven languages available to the system, after which a brief instruction on how to work with the system is provided.

The instructions give a brief overview of typical tasks that can be solved using this bot, explain how to work with ChatGPT and give examples of the best requests (promts - English prompt) to the system. 

This is followed by the FAQ section (Frequently asked Questions). We will quote the questions in this section and the answers to them, because we consider it important for understanding the principles of the system ^[2].

" ### Using ChatGPT for free? Yes. TalkAI provides access to ChatGPT completely free of charge. We take care of all expenses. ### Do I need to register in ChatGPT? No. On our website you can use ChatGPT without registration. ### Do I need a VPN to use ChatGPT? No. On our website you can use ChatGPT without VPN services. ### In which languages is ChatGPT available? Currently, ChaGPT is available in 15 different languages, including Russian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and others. The bot has been trained in a variety of texts and can generate answers in each of these languages, and not just translate from English. ### How accurate are the ChatGPT responses? The accuracy of the chatbot's responses, firstly, depends on the quality of the introductory ones: how specific were your requests (promts), how much context you provided, etc. It also depends on the quality and diversity of the data used to teach the language model. ChatGPT tries to imitate a person and give lively and detailed answers, but sometimes it generates complete nonsense. The bot may give incorrect answers to some questions that require factual knowledge, so you should not perceive ChatGPT as an infallible expert. It is recommended to use this model with caution and apply appropriate filtering and moderation methods to maintain the quality of its results."

Let's show how ChatGPT generates images. Let's say that in the course of studying the course "History of Belarus" we wanted to find images of the Spaso-Euphrosyne Church in Polotsk in its original form. Let's formulate the request for image generation as follows: "Draw how the Orthodox Church of the Savior-Euphrosyne, built in Polotsk, in the Byzantine tradition, in the middle of the XI century, could look like."

System response ^[2]:

Fig. 3. The image generated by ChatGPT (on the left).  Modern view of the temple (on the right).

IV. Explainlikeimfive.io ^[3]

Service  Explainlikeimfive.io designed to explain complex concepts in a simple and accessible language.  Russian Russian is supported in 29 languages, so all dialogs with the system can be conducted in Russian.

The view of the home page of this resource is shown in Figure 4.

Fig. 4. Home page of the service explainlikeimfive.io

In the center of the screen, under the image of an owl, there is a request input field with a suggestion to start a dialogue. Just above, to the right of the owl, there is a drop-down menu that allows you to select the language of the dialog. Below the input field is another drop-down menu offering to set the response level. There are four such levels :

I'm FEELING Pretty Dumb – I FEEL Pretty Stupid

I'm FEELING Dumb – I FEEL Stupid

I'm FEELING Smart – I FEEL Smart

I'm FEELING Pretty Smart – I FEEL pretty Smart

The level chosen depends on the thoroughness and detail of the answer.

To the right of the input field there is a switch "SARCASM". The emotional coloring of the response depends on whether it is turned on or not.

To the right of the central figure are variants of typical queries. You can choose any one to see how the system works.

Unlike the ones discussed above, the service explainlikeimfive.io paid.  For $3.99 per month, you will receive 200 tokens, i.e. you will be able to ask the system 200 questions (when executing one request, one token is consumed) . There is a seven-day trial period during which four requests can be made.

At the top of the screen, on the right, there is a main menu consisting of four items: Pricing (information about prices and current subscription), About Us (information about app developers), For Teatchers (information for teachers), For Students (information for students). Of these points, the last two are of the greatest interest.  Let's consider them in order.

When you click on the For Teatchers item, the application page opens with a list of options for teaching requests that the system can generate (see Figure 5).

Fig. 5 Artificial intelligence tools for teachers

By selecting the right tool, we can go to the page of the desired generator, which looks the same for all items except EMAIL RESPONSE GENERATOR and TOP TEACHING RESOURCES FOR US EDUCATORS.  Before starting the corresponding generator, we need to set the level of students (for example, a first-year student of the university), and the topic (for example, Computer Science). In response, the system will generate ten variants of discussion questions (DISCUSSION QUESTION GENERATOR), ten self-test questions with answers (QUIZ GENERATOR). ten problems for discussion (PROBLEM SOLVING GENERATOR), ten topics of group projects (GROUP PROJECT GENERATOR), ten query options (WRITING PROMPT GENERANOR), ten topics for debate (DEBATE TOPIC GENERATOR).

As an example, we will give the results of the system when generating discussion questions.

The topic of the discussion is Computer Science. The level of training of students is the first year of university. 

Questions for discussion on the topic of COMPUTER SCIENCE generated by the system ^[3]:

1. 1. What sparked your interest in computer science and how do you think it will affect your future career goals?

2. 2. How do you think advances in artificial intelligence will affect computer science in the coming years?

3. 3. What ethical considerations should be taken into account when developing and implementing new technologies in computer science?

4. 4. How do you think computer science can be used to solve global problems, such as climate change or access to healthcare?

5. 5. What are some of the biggest challenges facing the field of computer science today, and how do you think they can be solved?

6. 6. How do you think computer science can be used to promote social justice and equality?

7. 7. What role do you think computer science can play in improving education and access to information?

8. 8. How do you think computer science can be used to improve communication and cooperation between cultures and languages?

9. 9. What are some of the most interesting advances in computer science that you are looking forward to in your research?

10.10 How do you think computer science can be used to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in various industries? 

The results of the system's operation in the QUIZ GENERATOR mode (the discipline studied is Computer Science, the level of training of students is the first year of university) ^[3]:

1. What is the difference between hardware and software?

Answer: Hardware is the physical components of a computer, and software is the programs and instructions that are executed on the hardware. 2. What is the purpose of the operating system?

Answer. The operating system is responsible for managing the computer's hardware and software resources, as well as providing a user interface for interacting with the computer.

3. What is a computer network?

Answer: A computer network is a group of interconnected devices that can interact with each other and share resources.

4. What is the difference between LAN and WAN?

Answer: LAN (local area network) refers to a network covering a small geographical area, such as a home or office, and WAN (global network) refers to a network covering a large geographical area, such as a city or country. .

5. What is cloud computing?

Answer: Cloud computing refers to the provision of computing services, such as storage, software, and computing power, over the Internet.

6. What is encryption?

Answer: Encryption is the process of converting data into a code or cipher to prevent unauthorized access.

7. What is a firewall?

Answer. A firewall is a security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined security rules.

8. What is a virus?

Answer: A virus is a type of malicious software that can reproduce itself and spread to other computers, often causing data corruption or theft.

9. What is a backup?

Answer: A backup copy is a copy of important data or files that is stored separately from the original, in case the original is lost or damaged.

10. What is the difference between RAM and ROM?

Answer: RAM (random access memory) is a type of computer memory that is used for temporary storage of data and program instructions, and ROM (permanent storage device) is a type of computer memory that is used for permanent storage of data and programs. Instructions.

The other generators work similarly.

Let's now consider the capabilities of the system in the EMAIL RESPONSE GENERATOR mode. Figure 6 shows the screen view of the system running in this mode. 

Fig. 6 Results of the system operation in the EMAIL RESPONSE GENERATOR mode

This is a letter from a student transferring to a new specialty and eliminating the difference in curricula, and the teacher's response. To generate an answer, it was necessary to enter the relevant information in the right field and set the emotional tone of the answer (Professional or Casual).

We will not consider the operation of the system after selecting the main menu item For Students in detail.  It is in many ways similar to working with the system in for Teathers mode and is not of particular interest to us.

Now let's go back to the main page of the application (see Fig. 4) Below are two variants of the system's responses to the "ENTROPY" query.

The first option is SARCASM – Off mode. Response Level – Pretty Dumb System Response ^[3]:

 Entropy is an indicator of the disorder that can occur in a system. It reflects the number of possible states of the system that correspond to its current state. 

For example, imagine a room with a lot of toys in it. If the toys are in different places and are not stacked in a certain order, then it looks messy. This state has a high entropy. If the toys are stacked by color and appearance, then it looks more orderly. This state has low entropy.

Another example is related to thermodynamics. If we have a system in which heat passes from a hot object to a cold object, then this manifests itself in an increase in the entropy of the system. This is because heat always moves from an object with a higher temperature to an object with a lower temperature, which leads to a more chaotic movement of molecules.

Verifiable fact: The second principle of thermodynamics states that entropy will always increase in a closed system that undergoes processes occurring spontaneously.

In general, entropy is an indicator of disorder and disorder in the system.

It can increase during various processes, which leads to a more chaotic movement of particles and irreversible changes in the system. 

The second option is SARCASM – Off. The response level is Pretty Smart ^[3]:

Entropy is a measure of the amount of disorder or randomness in a system. This concept is commonly used in physics, chemistry, and information theory. The higher the entropy level, the more disordered the system is. For example, a glass of water with ice cubes has low entropy because ice cubes are organized and water molecules are structured. However, as the ice melts, the water molecules become more disordered, and entropy increases.

 Another example is a deck of cards. When the cards are in order, they have low entropy. But when the cards are shuffled, they become more disordered, and entropy increases.

According to the second law of thermodynamics, the total entropy of a closed system always increases with time. This means that energy tends to dissipate and become more disordered, which leads to an increase in entropy.

A verifiable fact is that the concept of entropy was introduced by Rudolf Clausius in 1865.

V. Artificial intelligence technologies in the educational process of Polotsk State University

It seems to us that we understand quite well all the consequences of the widespread introduction of neural networks into our lives. We also imagine what changes in the organization of the educational process at the university may occur. That is why we have developed an action plan to familiarize teachers, staff and students of the university with neural network technologies. This plan includes the following activities:

1.      Preparation of the seminar "Artificial intelligence technologies for teachers".

2.      Preparation of the seminar "Artificial intelligence technologies for students".

3.      Conducting seminars.

4.      Correction of the curriculum of the discipline "Historical Informatics" for students of the first stage of study of the specialty "History".

5.      Correction of the curriculum of the discipline "Fundamentals of algorithmization and programming" for students of the first stage of training in the specialty "Artificial Intelligence".

6. Development of new educational and methodological support for the discipline "Historical Informatics".

7. Development of new educational and methodological support for the discipline "Fundamentals of algorithmization and programming".

8.      Introduction of new curricula into the educational process.

9.      Preparation of an optional course "Application of artificial intelligence technologies in the educational process".

Currently, we have completed the work on the development of materials for the seminars outlined in the first two points of the plan, and we are starting to hold these events.

VI. Conclusion

As follows from all the above, the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies will undoubtedly lead to a radical change in approaches to the organization of the educational process, its structure and content. According to the forecasts of some experts ^[4] by the end of 2026, ninety percent of the content on the Internet will be generated by artificial intelligence. This cannot but affect the educational content posted on the Internet. It will become more meaningful and dynamic, as the time and effort required to create it will be significantly reduced. 

In conclusion, we note that throughout its more than half a century of history, neural networks have already experienced periods of rapid growth and increased attention, as well as periods of skepticism and indifference. Today, they are back at the peak of fame thanks to the development of a family of unsupervised pre-learning algorithms and the success of deep neural networks in practical tasks such as speech and image recognition.

At the same time, however, it should be borne in mind that solutions obtained with the help of deep neural networks are often impossible to verify. This can mislead gullible users and lead to serious mistakes when making decisions. Almost certainly, there will be tasks that neural networks cope with poorly.

All this must be taken into account when organizing training and working with neural networks.

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