As Australian colleges crack down on ChatGPT, students with disabilities defend AI

Students work on computers in the computer lounge at the campus of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Students with disabilities urge greater embrace of AI tech as a growing number of universities step up measures against OpenAI's chatbot. — Reuters

MELBOURNE: Visually impaired student Adam Whitehead has long relied on a computer and assistive technology to help him read course materials and take exams at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

He has watched with concern as universities in Australia and beyond move to crack down on ChatGPT – a free programme that generates original text about virtually any subject in response to a prompt – over fears of cheating.