Let's get chatty with ChatGPT—with great capabilities, comes great anxiety
Every writer has either let out a shuddering breath of fear or rejoiced when ChatGPT launched last November. The AI language tool can generate all different kinds of texts, based on the prompts that are entered. Through continuously analyzing available texts from the Internet, the tool is capable of learning and becoming better at writing. This means that ChatGPT is capable of writing emails, theses, or blog entries—just like the one you're reading now!
However, with great capabilities, comes great anxiety. Many creatives are worried about this advancement in technology, because it could mean that their jobs are at stake. What happens when PR professionals are no longer needed for writing, because AI is taking over? Will these jobs go extinct?
But let's first see how we got here…
The tool has been in development for quite some time and is based on the “transformer architecture” that was first conceived in 2017 by researchers at Google. The transformer architecture was found to be highly effective at natural language processing tasks. The training process for ChatGPT was highly complex, involving massive amounts of computing power and sophisticated algorithms. The end result is a language model that can understand and generate natural language with a high degree of accuracy and fluency.
This is a truly impressive feat, considering language is highly complex—perhaps even one of the most complex tools humanity has ever utilized. Alongside body language, we use it as our primary mode of communication, which makes it incredibly invaluable.
Some would argue that it is, in part, what makes us human. It's only natural that a tool, that imitates how humans communicate, would make people uneasy. Is AI truly taking over, are humans outdated—are we going to be replaced? It's safe to say that AI isn't ready to take over yet, and probably won't be for the next few decades.
…and where we’ll go from here
While a Matrix-like-world-domination is unlikely, it's far more realistic that language tools like ChatGPT will impact our attitude towards writing as a craft and trained skill. Many people make their livelihood from writing texts—a skill they have honed throughout their lives. Because of this, writers are also compensate based on their experience, and not just the time actually spent writing. This means that professional writers can be pretty expensive to employ. In direct comparison, utilizing a language tool is a lot cheaper than employing an actual person. At the time of this writing, ChatGPT 4 costs 20 USD/month. On top of that, AI doesn't require vacation days or sick leave. This makes it an attractive alternative for companies, who would otherwise employ copywriters. Aside from the financial aspect, AI generates content much faster. It can compose long texts within seconds, while it can take human professionals hours to research their topic and go through multiple rounds of editing and revisions before they've finished.
The need for a human’s touch and a touch of humanity
While the benefits to using AI are clear, there are drawbacks. While AI is fast, it is argued that it lacks the critical thinking skills required to edit its own writing. Because the tool lacks empathy, it can’t really tell if the writing is truly compelling—and must instead rely on the data it was fed to reach that conclusion. This makes it unsuited to write authentic emotional pieces. For this, a human's natural understanding of empathy and emotion is needed.
Another naturally human skill, that AI won't ever be able to achieve, is inherent creativity. AI tools only draw from pre-existing content. For human writers, it's only natural to think outside the box and develop new approaches.
While AI may be reliable, in the sense that it won't ever get sick, the output quality isn't inherently reliable. Again, the tool is highly dependent on the information that was put in it. It can only generate based on that, and might be subject to false information, and all our implicit biases that affect all digital algorithms.
This is something that even the creators of ChatGPT are aware of and why the disclaimer, “ChatGPT may produce inaccurate information about people, places, or facts,” features prominently at the bottom of every chat window. So far, ChatGPT's quality control can't ensure that every text will feature perfect grammar, be completely accurate, or even make sense. While it's a fantastic tool, it's not perfect, and still requires a human eye and sensibility to go over generated content.
Let's get Chatty!
Now that we've had a thorough look at the upsides and downsides of AI language tools like ChatGPT, it's only fair to give it the chance to say something about the topic. So we had a little chat…
LAIKA: Hi, ChatGPT. Working with you has been a pleasure, thanks for telling me about how you were created! Now, some people are worried you might be impacting their work life negatively. That you might replace them, what say you?
ChatGPT:You're welcome! I'm glad to hear that you find working with me to be a pleasure, and I'm always here to assist you with your writing tasks. As an AI language model, I am here to support and enhance human writing, not to replace it. Writing is a skill that requires creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence, and these are abilities that AI models like me do not possess. Rather than being a threat to human writers, I believe that AI language models like myself can be a valuable tool that can help writers to improve their craft and produce better writing.
LAIKA: Where do you see yourself in the future?
ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I believe that I will continue to play a significant role in the future of natural language processing and artificial intelligence. I expect to see advancements in AI technology that will enable me to perform more complex tasks and generate even more sophisticated and human-like language. In the future, I may be used to assist with a wide range of language-related tasks, such as language translation, content generation, and even creative writing. I may also be integrated into various software applications and platforms to enhance their language processing capabilities and improve the user experience. Overall, I see a bright future for AI language models like myself, and I look forward to seeing how I can continue to evolve and assist with language-related tasks in the years to come.
An artificially natural symbiosis
ChatGPT makes an interesting point. Its purpose is to assist. Maybe viewing ChatGPT as a creative sparring partner, rather than a threat, is a good place to start. While it might help us think about how to start new sentences, or help us come up with a press release outline—it cannot do all the leg-work. So why not call a truce? At the end of the day, we know our audience best, and crafting truly engaging content will always require the unique touch of human creativity that artificial intelligence cannot replicate. So for the time being, it’s safe to say, that we—PR professionals—are not going anywhere.