Why I Switched from ChatGPT to Anthropic as an Educator

Why I Switched from ChatGPT to Anthropic as an Educator

Educators' Choice: Large Language Models vs Chatbots

As a teacher looking to responsibly utilize AI technology in the classroom, I initially started using ChatGPT to assist with certain educational activities. However, after some time I decided to transition to using Anthropic's Claude and Lawrence models instead. Here's why:

Transparency and Explainability

While ChatGPT produces human-like text, there is not much transparency into how it works "under the hood". Anthropic provides more technical details on their self-supervised training process and constitutional AI techniques meant to align models with human values. I appreciate being able to inspect and understand what drives the model's behaviors.

Improved Reliability

I encountered issues with ChatGPT occasionally generating false, biased or nonsensical information when asked complex questions. Anthropic's models are designed to politely refrain from answering if not sufficiently confident, rather than guessing. I have found Claude and Lawrence to be more dependable in educational settings.

Focus on Safety

As a teacher, I have to be mindful of how AI is utilized with students. Anthropic prioritizes model safety and has developed strategies like technique alignment to avoid harmful or dangerous content generation. ChatGPT currently lacks sufficient safeguards for my comfort.

Non-Profit Dedication to AI Safety

While OpenAI started as a non-profit, it is now owned by Microsoft and operates as a for-profit company. Anthropic's continued dedication as an independent non-profit research lab focused on AI safety gives me greater confidence in their integrity as an educational partner.

For these reasons, I believe Anthropic's AI assistant technology better aligns with my responsibilities as an educator. The commitment to transparency, reliability, safety and beneficial AI makes me comfortable using their models in my classroom. While no technology is perfect, for now I feel Anthropic is a better fit for my educational needs compared to systems like ChatGPT. The choice comes down to priority alignment between the educator's values and the AI provider's values. For me, Anthropic's priorities are better suited to my role as a teacher.