Did an AI write this Article?
AI, such as ChatGPT, is transforming work by revolutionizing content creation. However, it also raises important ethical questions.
Edit 2024-10-27 : added more clarity on how AI is used in the existing workflow.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been making waves in recent months, transforming the way we work. AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, are changing the way we create content, performing tasks that were once thought to be the exclusive domain of humans. They have the potential to revolutionize industries and create new opportunities, but they also raise important ethical and societal questions.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) model that has been trained to understand and generate human-like text. It's like having a virtual personal assistant that you can talk to, ask questions, and get answers from.
The AI model can understand the context of a conversation and generate responses that are relevant to the topic being discussed. And unlike search engines, it doesn't just give you information but can also have a conversation.
Why is this such a big deal?
The key innovation behind ChatGPT is its ability to understand context. Without this, ChatGPT would not be able to understand the meaning behind what is being said, and its responses would not be useful.
For example, consider a scenario where someone says "It's raining cats and dogs outside." If the listener is familiar with the saying, they would understand that it is raining heavily. However, if the listener is not familiar with the idiom, they might interpret it literally and become concerned about the safety of animals.
If it's raining cats and dogs, it's best to stay indoors or wear waterproof clothing and use an umbrella or raincoat if you need to go outside. Drive carefully on wet roads and avoid flooded areas. Stay safe and find shelter if necessary.
If ChatGPT did not have context, it might respond to this phrase with information about how to best protect oneself from falling animals. However, with context, it can understand that the phrase is being used to express extreme weather and respond with a more relevant and appropriate response, such as suggesting the nearest shelter.
Is ChatGPT always correct?
Like any artificial intelligence model, is not always correct. ChatGPT is only as good as the data it has been trained on. It is still a machine and can make mistakes or generate responses that are incorrect or inappropriate. Even worse, ChatGPT always answers confidently which can introduce a false sense of security.
In addition, great care must be taken to ensure that ChatGPT generates ethical and unbiased responses. Unfortunately, training data can include biases and inaccuracies. This means that the model can generate responses that reflect these biases, even if they are not accurate or appropriate.
Is using ChatGPT Ethical?
ChatGPT, like any generative AI, is trained on a large dataset. It's unclear how the inclusion of copyrighted data into this dataset could create legal issues, especially if a response is similar to the original data from the dataset. AI Art tools are facing the same issues, with multiple copyright lawsuits having been issued against popular tools Stable Diffusion and Midjourney.
Another ethical concern arises when someone claims authorship for content generated by ChatGPT, particularly in the context of exams. Used this way, AI tools can undermines the integrity of the educational system and the value of a student's degree. This illustrate the importance of proper disclosure when AI tools are leveraged, especially when the content is used as-is.
How should ChatGPT be used?
Some news outlet have attempted to use AI tools to author articles without human supervision, resulting in false and misleading content. Given this situation and the dangers previously mentioned, how could ChatGPT be useful?
As stated previously, ChatGPT works best as a virtual personal assistant. It can be used to generate some ideas, but these need to be validated by a human author. It can also edit and correct content, sometimes rewriting sentences. However, any writing generate by ChatGPT requires some amount of review, given its wordy writing style and tendency to transform the content itself.
Did ChatGPT write this article?
This article was written and edited by a human author. However, ChatGPT was used to generate several ideas and rewrite sentences. The workflow for an AI assisted article is usually as follows:
- Topics is drawn from the authors experience, or current event.
- Research is done manually, using a combination of web search, reading books and experimentation.
- The research is then fed to ChatGPT with specific instructions as to the exact composition of the article, including the specific content of each paragraph. This produces the initial version of the article.
- The articles is then reviewed, edited and often rewritten. The tone of the article is very important to get right and requires manual intervention.
The reality is that the expertise of the Technodabbler staff is technology, as opposed to worth smithing. The use of a generative AI allows the author to focus on the content, while enabling rapid iteration. For example, the process of writing this article was accelerated by about 2 hours, a 25% saving.
Typically, the Arduino article would be started with this prompt:
The intro should focus on how micro electronic has become more accessible with the introduction of small dev board like the Arduino. As the end of the intro, mention the content of the rest of the article.
Next paragraph should explain in simple terms what and Arduino board is. Give some example on how it can be used, mentioning motors and leds. Describes how it can be hooked up to various component to produce more elaborate projects.
Next paragraph talks about simple projects people have built. Use the example i've previously provided.
Finally, end with an outro, suggesting people use the comment section on what they could use it for. Then mention the electronic workbench article, and invite the
The final article follows a similar flow, but has much more content, including how people can learn to use Arduino board. These were added during the editing process, as to better fit the tone of the side.
Policies
The work on this article helped establish Technodabbler's policy regarding AI writing tools :
Despite the many ethical concern that remains, the undeniable truth is that the tool is accessible to everyone and they will use it. Therefore, instead of pondering whether it should be allowed to used, society must focus on finding ways to use it responsibly and prevent any potential misuse.
