AI’s New Conversation Skills Eyed for Education

Inside Higher Ed

Lauren Coffey

May 17, 2024

Haya Ajjan eagerly sat in front of her computer on Monday, joking she was on the edge of her seat, watching OpenAI announce its newest iteration of ChatGPT.

“I thought, right away, this is going to change personalized learning,” said Ajjan, associate dean at Elon University’s Love School of Business in North Carolina.

ChatGPT’s newest version, GPT-4o ( the “o” standing for “omni,” meaning “all”), has a more realistic voice and quicker verbal response time, both aiming to sound more human. The version, which should be available to free ChatGPT users in coming weeks—a change also hailed by educators—allows people to interrupt it while it speaks, simulates more emotions with its voice and translates languages in real time. It also can understand instructions in text and images and has improved video capabilities.

The new version adds to the tsunami of interest in generative artificial intelligence since ChatGPT’s launch in Nov. 2022. Over the last two years, some in higher education have shunned AI, while others embraced it, and the majority have cautiously begun tinkering.

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