They were being evaluated not only for their understanding of math but also for their ability to trudge through the steps of each equation, work that no scientist or engineer in the 21st century would ever need to perform.
In 2019, Abhinash moved to Toronto to pursue a degree in earth and environmental sciences. (Abhinash is a pseudonym. Like other students interviewed for this story, he asked me to withhold his real name because he has done things his professors may consider cheating.) In Toronto, he enrolled in a linear-algebra class, where, to his surprise, calculators were not merely permitted but required. The first time he brought one to an exam, it felt wrong, like showing up to a black-tie gala in jeans and a T-shirt. He placed the device on his desk and willed himself to touch it, instinctively feeling that doing so might violate a sacred rule. He quickly got over this fear. Soon, the very notion of a prohibition on calculators seemed ridiculous.
Abhinash was in the fourth year of his degree when a far more powerful tool hit the market. On November 30, 2022, OpenAI, a Microsoft-funded research lab in San Francisco, made its chatbot, ChatGPT, publicly available for free. In December, Abhinash was hanging out in the common room of his building with friends when one of them introduced the group to the program.
The guys were enthralled. They crowded around their buddy's laptop and began issuing commands to the bot, instructing it to write poems and song lyrics. Later that evening, two of the friends got into an argument over a group assignment, and one stormed out of the room. When he returned, he learned that his buddies had prompted ChatGPT to write an apology on his behalf-and to generate alternative versions in the style of a rapper, a pirate and a Shakespearean actor. Abhinash was fascinated by the program, although he couldn't fully grasp its purpose. It seemed more interesting than useful.
This story is from the September 2023 edition of Toronto Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2023 edition of Toronto Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
There will be blood
Bedbugs are-no exaggeration-everywhere in Toronto: our libraries, offices, schools, hospitals, hotels, transit and homes. Inside the always expensive, often traumatic, probably futile battle to eradicate the bloodsucking parasites that are ruining our lives
Work Less, Live More
The 40-hour workweek sucks. Ambition is overrated. Life is short. Confessions from the new and intentionally underemployed labour force
Dinner, Party
Four resto-clubs where you can fuel up then boogie down-all without leaving the premises
Urban Diplomat
One of my friends has started policing strangers' social lives online. If he overhears people gossiping, he'll whip out his phone and surreptitiously record.
Car Guy
Flavio Volpe built a $20-million concept car to show off Canadian auto parts. Now if only he could get someone to finance production
Lighting the way to more efficient treatment
Markham Stouffville Hospital's new GreenLight Laser is reducing hospital stays and wait times for prostate surgeries.
Saving Sila
Yara Abualjedian was nine months pregnant when the bombing started in Gaza. Her husband, Ahmad, was in Canada, 9,000 kilometres away, with no way to reach her. Then she went into labour. A story about love and perseverance in a time of war
BRUTE FORCE
Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd always wanted to be a cop, and she loved the job. Even when her fellow officers started harassing her, she said nothing at first. That's the codeyou don't go public, no matter what. But eventually she had to speak up, and it cost her everything
THE GOOD LIAR
Carolyn Krebs (alias Carolyn Goodman, alias Marian Linton) may be the city's most hated landlord. She ignores work orders, falsifies documents and evicts tenants without cause. How one woman is making a killing off a system that's too broken to stop her
THE SECRET CITY
INSIDER TIPS AND TRICKS THAT MAKE LIFE EASIER, CHEAPER, FASTER, SLOWER, TASTIER, SMARTER AND WAY MORE FUN