Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has long been the talk of science fiction enthusiasts. But that all changed this past November. OpenAI, a Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence company, unleashed ChatGPT and sparked thousands of experimenters to test out this new technology, including myself.
So, what’s all the fuss about? In short, ChatGPT arguably represents the biggest leap forward in the field of natural language processing (NLP). The promise of AI has been vague for most people outside of a bunch of machine learning nerds. But ChatGPT has made it real and accessible. In particular, this AI model has the ability to understand and interpret natural language, learn and adapt to new information and generate nuanced responses that can be customized to the needs of individuals. But what’s most sensational about ChatGPT is that it could very well become the next disruptive technology (with a capital “D”). Think back to the days when search engines were just introduced. I remember staying up nights, asking questions in my Netscape browser (yes…Netscape!) and seeing the wide array of answers and sources that it directed me too. It was game changing. ChatGPT has the same potential. Perhaps greater.
Here’s a few applications that people are already using ChatGPT for:
· Creative Writing: ChatGPT has fueled an explosion of essays, book submissions and even music lyrics. While there have been some idiosyncrasies highlighted in recent articles, overall, it has produced essays that have fooled many a professor and enabled writers to circumvent writer’s block.
· Feedback Loops: On the flipside, there are numerous examples of professors and teaching assistants using ChatGPT to provide feedback to students on their writing assignments. Please note: the irony isn’t lost on me that a student might craft an essay using AI and then may end up having AI critique their AI fueled essay.
· Counseling Services: The demand for mental health support is at an all-time high. And ChatGPT has been shown to effectively help fill that void. For example, Woebot, a chatbot designed to provide cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), uses ChatGPT technology to provide personalized CBT interventions to users with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Another example the Crisis Text Line, which triages incoming text messages and provides personalized responses.
· Personal Assistants: On the more mundane, but very pragmatic, side of things, ChatGPT can be used as a personal assistant. You’ve probably already experienced voice-activated devices like the Alexa to tell you the weather or remind you of tasks or the Cortana which is integrated into Microsoft to help with scheduling appointments.
Sounds awesome, right? Well, no new technology is without its risks. While ChatGPT holds incredible promise, it also has great potential to undermine our originality, our critical thinking as well as academic honesty. Much in the same way human beings have outsourced our ability to read a map (thanks GPS!) or remember the sixteenth president of the United States (yes, that’s you Google!), ChatGPT can very easily replace our ability to construct a creatively written piece (such as this one!) Our ability to tell stories and create is what makes us ashuman beings uniquely human. We need to retain that part of our DNA while also recognizing that pandora’s box has already been opened. And simply ignoring ChatGPT isn’t a realistic option.
So what should you do about it? Here are three things you should start doing right now.
1. Start Understanding ChatGPT. Read about AI and ChatGPT. Research the various applications, explore the possibilities, and understand the potential risks. I encourage talking to experts who have already been experimenting with this technology and learn more about the different use cases and applications. By interviewing people who are at the forefront of this technology, it can open your eyes up to how you can build an AI Strategy as well as safeguard against it misuse and abuse of AI.
2. Run Individual Experiments. Last month I decided that rather than just read about ChatGPT, I would run little mini-experiments. I regularly asked the ChatGPT site questions and asked it to solve challenges for me. For example, I was struggling with understanding how to improve the SEO for my website. By asking several questions, I not only found the answer that I was looking for, it acted as the thought partner that I didn’t have.
3. Purposeful Ideation: Once you’ve scratched the surface, I recommend designing a workshop or think tank to explore how you might integrate ChatGPT into your day-to-day operations and your business objectives. By bringing together variegated thinkers and experts, you will find yourself accelerating your AI Strategy and use of ChatGPT.
Once upon a time, people feared the Telegraph and the Calculator. They worried that these new, disruptive technologies would adversely change the business world and their lives. ChatGPT is no different. I sincerely believe that the more we understand the possibilities AND the guardrails around the technology, the better we can ensure that that the technology works for us, rather than us working for the technology.