ChatGPT - How AI will influence the communications industry

The progress of artificial intelligence (AI) is inevitable, which can be both anxiety-inducing and thrilling at the same time. We can expect the increasing prevalence of automated writing services to significantly impact the communications industry. Account Executive Allegra discusses the new update of ChatGPT and how it will present both challenges and opportunities in the communications sphere.

Open AI’s updated version of ChatGPT has prompted great public discussion about the role of AI in the communications industry. With some saying it will take over the communications industry and others insisting it will propel us to new heights. Either way, the increasing capacities of AI will have significant implications for how we communicate.

WHAT IS CHATGPT?

ChatGPT is a language processing tool that American company, Open AI, has developed to be “able to generate anything”. From content creation to music composition and creating code on demand, ChatGPT’s abilities seem limitless and honestly a little scary. However, it is important to highlight that technology such as this has existed for quite some time. What has shocked the world with ChatGPT is that we can try it out for free; all you need to do is give them your email address. Yet, it seems they are waving a big red flag in front of our faces. Haven’t we always been warned that if a product is free, then we are the product? Just some food for thought…

WHO IS USING CHATGPT AND WHY?

As of January 2023, 13 million active users are interacting with ChatGPT daily, and mostly just out of curiosity. To some extent, the fascination with ChatGPT seems to simply be because it is a fresh form of communication. It is human nature to be curious about change; some will argue that it’s fun, and what’s the harm? While others will experience a wave of technophobia, arguing that this is the end of human literacy as we know it.

SHOULD WE USE CHATGPT?

We are all familiar with the feeling of staring at a blank page, the fear that lies in the nothingness staring back at you. Yet, writing is not simply picking up a pen and scribbling, nor is it mindlessly pressing keys on your keyboard. Writing is a skill that has so many intellectual, personal, and moral dimensions. Writing is perpetually drafting, rewriting, and wrestling with the resistance kicking back at you on a page. It is through the iterative process of writing that we can seek clarity and understanding and sometimes redefine the question that we started with to create something more nuanced. Writing is a muscle, and to be engaged in the process, you must keep using it. Something feels instinctively morally wrong about using ChatGPT and the fundamental evasion of the writer’s process.

FINDING A BALANCE

For most of us, artificial intelligence and semi-intelligence operate alongside the art of human writing. For example, predictive texting and email make it so easy to generate messages that can help us save time. But when we take these ‘shortcuts’, are we neglecting to respond thoughtfully, appropriately, and humanely? When it comes to communication, we tackle things that do not always have a searchable solution — being human is knowing how to go about these challenges through a process that provides clarity and understanding. A little special Sauce doesn’t hurt either…especially when you know what to put it on!

Allegra Nadeson
Account Executive