DRIVING THOUGHTS
By now, most people are aware of ChatGPT. It’s mentioned casually or in jest in a conversation when one means to poke someone to write better, or to be more careful about taking advise from a nicely-written letter from a friend or colleague.
Before we begin to discuss that, here’s how the technology is described on its website:
“This technology has been developed by Open AI and it can generate human-like text. The main function of ChatGPT login is to understand natural language and generate relevant, coherent, and engaging responses. When you access this platform and type your query or question it generates a well-structured response for you. Whether you are looking for a guide or looking to fix a programming error, Chat.openai.com will generate the correct answer within seconds for you.
“This is a chatbot that is accessible to all and allows users to generate human-like texts. So, it can replace human writers in the future with its capabilities and help businesses get the support of content.”
Here's what our TechNews editor Art Samaniego says about the AI technology: “ChatGPT is a powerful language model that uses cutting-edge technology to generate human-like responses to user input. Trained on vast amounts of text data, ChatGPT can answer a wide range of questions and carry on natural-sounding conversations with users. With its advanced capabilities and sophisticated algorithms, ChatGPT represents a breakthrough in artificial intelligence, and when properly used, it can drive innovation and progress in various industries and applications.”
I am not writing this to discuss the new AI technology, or whether AI can replace human writers. I would like to comment on one basic value that is now being raised by the use of ChatGPT – honesty.
I have observed the way ChatGPT produces answers to questions asking for an essay, feature story, even an opinion column on any topic. It is an amazing technology which can entertain or delight you as it produces one essay after the other, written clearly, with proper grammar, and logical analysis of topic.
I’m sure many have used ChatGPT to write essays, letters, or feature stories as a requirement for a school assignment, an office task, or to contribute to a media platform. That’s where the value of honesty comes in. Does the act of directing instructions to Chat GPT to write something on a certain topic make one the writer of the written product?
Those who think that an AI’s response is part of the creative process of writing should consider the following points:
One, editors can recognize a writer’s style and a different one raises a red flag – if not a joke among editors. Some writers are not aware of the fact that one’s writing style is like a trait that develops through time; you can’t suddenly change it with a piece of writing courtesy of AI.
Two, as experts have said, ChatGPT can only compose a piece according to what it finds about the topic in the internet. If a person is one who is hardly on social media or in any online story, the app will replace the missing information with stock information about the person, mostly made up of adjectives, not details (I tried that with a person who has no social media account, and no online presence).
I’ve read reports on schools and colleges issuing advisories against the use of ChatGPT for school assignments. Although its use is openly discussed in many corporate offices, action to prevent its use for office communications is not taken. One reason is, the app now becomes a good tool for efficient communications purposes, which does not require an open ownership of a written piece. But in schools and media companies, a student or writer producing a written piece by AI and putting his or her name as the writer does not speak of honesty.
To me, honesty has value.