(CNN) --
ChatGPT is smart enough to pass prestigious graduate exams, though not with particularly high marks.
The powerful new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot recently passed law exams in four courses at the University of Minnesota and another exam at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, according to professors at these centers.
In order to test ChatGPT's ability to generate responses on exams across all four courses, professors at the University of Minnesota Law School scored the exams blindly.
After answering 95 multiple-choice questions and 12 essay questions, the chatbot performed on average at the level of a C+ student, earning a low but passing grade for all four courses.
ChatGPT fared better on a Wharton business management course exam, earning a grade of B to B-, an equivalent of 80 on a scale of 100. Christian Terwiesch, a Wharton business professor, said in an article that ChatGPT did "an amazing job" of answering basic operations management and process analysis questions.
However, he noted that the tool struggled with more advanced questions and made "shocking mistakes" with basic math.
"These errors can be of a large magnitude," he wrote.
The results of this test come as a growing number of schools and teachers express concern about the immediate impact of ChatGPT on students and their ability to cheat on assignments.
Some educators have moved remarkably quickly to reframe their tasks in the presence of ChatGPT, even though it's unclear how widespread the tool's use among students has been, or how truly detrimental it might be to learning.
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Since it was made available to users in late November, ChatGPT has been used to generate original essays, stories, and song lyrics in response to user input.
He has written summaries of research papers that misled some scientists.
Some CEOs have even used it to write emails or do accounting work.
ChatGPT uses large amounts of online data to generate answers to user questions.
While it has gained traction, it has also raised some concerns, such as inaccuracies and its potential to perpetuate bias and spread misinformation.
Jon Choi, one of the law professors at the University of Minnesota, explained to CNN that the goal of the tests was to explore the potential of ChatGPT to help lawyers in their practice and students in exams, whether their professors let it. allow or not, because the questions often mimic the wording that lawyers use in real life.
"ChatGPT struggled with the more classic components of law school exams, such as spotting potential legal issues and in-depth analysis to apply legal standards to the facts of a case," Choi said.
"But ChatGPT could be very useful in creating a first draft that a student could refine later."
According to Choi, the collaboration between humans and artificial intelligence is the most promising case for ChatGPT and other similar technologies.
"My strong hunch is that AI assistants will become standard tools for lawyers in the near future, and law schools should prepare their students for that scenario," he said.
"Of course, if law professors want to continue testing the simple memory of legal rules and doctrines, they will have to put restrictions such as prohibiting the use of the Internet during exams."
Wharton's Terwiesch also found that the chatbot was "remarkably good" at modifying its responses after receiving human cues, such as reworking responses after an error is flagged, suggesting the potential for people to work together with artificial intelligence.
In the short term, however, unease lingers over whether and how students should use ChatGPT.
Public schools in New York and Seattle, for example, have already banned students and teachers from using ChatGPT on district networks and devices.
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Considering that ChatGPT performed above average on its test, Terwiesch told CNN that he's okay with restrictions being put in place for students while they're taking the tests.
"The bans are necessary," he said.
"At the end of the day, when you give a doctor a degree, you want them to know medicine, not how to use a robot. The same goes for certifying other skills, like law and business," she added.
But Terwiesch believes that, ultimately, this technology still has a place in the classroom.
"If all we end up with is the same education system as before, we've wasted an incredible opportunity that comes with ChatGPT," he said.
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