Modern business has long relied heavily on technology to boost efficiency and enhance workflow. From team management software to surveillance, research, testing, monitoring, and much more, digital tools have become an integral part of businesses. And yet, very few tools have any real value without human intelligence behind them.
Any tool, software, technology, or invention has only one core goal at heart – to help human beings. Biologically speaking, any living creature has limitations, and as a part of the survival mechanism, we aim to save energy and rest as much as possible. Essentially, being lazy is natural. As humans learned how to make their lives easier, laziness became a driving factor in our evaluation and progress. This, of course, wouldn’t be possible without curiosity, creativity, competitiveness, and, needless to say, intelligence.
So what happens when intelligence is all that is left?
Artificial Intelligence in Business Progress
AI and machine learning has long been on the rise. These technologies can speed things up and reduce human errors, especially when it comes to number-driven areas, say in banking, insurance, security, and defence. It helped businesses reduce costs, improve efficiency, and help to develop better products and services, enabling a more tailored approach to cater to customers’ needs within reasonable timeframes.
However, up until now, these tools were mainly complementary to human intelligence. They were and are assisting in various ways; however, they were not created to fully replace human input. In fact, with the need for more data analysts, in a way, some tools were pushing for more human intelligence while reducing the amount of time one would need for manual and repetitive tasks.
So How is ChatGTP Different?
At its core, technology aside, it is not much different. What truly sets it apart is its simplicity when it comes to usability. All the tools we could have coved in the section above require expertise, and they are specific to their tasks and are designed for complex industries. ChatGPT, though, is not an engineer at NASA. It feels more like your colleague, friend or even your neighbour. Simple, relatable, understandable, and very approachable, so much so that it became a superstar in no time.
The Misuse of AI
While there is nothing wrong with the tool itself, the issue is its users. Unlike more industry-specific AI-driven tools, ChatGPT doesn’t have one specific purpose. So as a language-based tool, it lends itself very nicely to content-driven areas such as marketing and content creation.
I feel it is a great time to circle back to the introduction of this article.
- So what is intelligence without curiosity, creativity, or competitiveness?
- It is, essentially, ChatGPT.
ChatGPT Fraud
The baseline of any business is to ensure higher profit margins. The goal of any working person is to increase efficiency with minimum effort. The weakness of many humans is laziness. And the everlasting battle of humanity is morality. It may sound a bit dramatic and unnecessarily philosophical for a digital marketing article, but the above points fuel content-based ChatGPT fraud. The intelligence of this tool has blurred the lines between automation and the value of human experience.
Selling or Presenting AI-Generated Content as Human Written
Too many businesses turn to AI tools to save budget, and what is worse, it allows unprofessional content creators to cheat and fool their management and/or clients. This can be especially dangerous when working with freelancers through various marketplaces such as UpWork (which we witnessed first-hand). Fortunately, by profession, I am pretty savvy in the digital space; however, most users are not. Additionally, the ability of these AI tools to mimic human language makes spotting AI-generated content even more challenging, so many users will not even think to check.
Essentially, someone who previously would have had to spend a day working on research and content creation for a $150 per 1,000 words article (which would be an approximate fee for a more experienced writer) now could technically generate 20 (or more) of them per day without doing anything and “earn” over $3,000. This would mean (theoretically of course) that the freelancer could make close to $1,000,000 in annual revenue by copying and pasting AI-generated content (and that is for only one person).
Data Breaches and the Impact on Personal Information
We have already seen cases of data breach and personal data misuse investigations in many countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Australia to name a few. From suspicion of privacy breaches and data leaks to AI making mistakes resulting in defamation. AI tools create a pool of information without the ability to choose or understand which pieces of the puzzle are correct nor do they have the empathy to adjust how the information is presented. This new technology isn’t fully or truly regulated, so there is no way to know how it can use data or if it can be manipulated or retrained for malicious purposes when it comes to our privacy and security.
ChatGPT Scams are on the Rise
Online scammers are also utilising the ability of these advanced AI-powered tools to mimic human language to create persuasive messages and emails. They manipulate users into data and money fraud through the users following cybercriminals’ instructions and/or clicking on malicious links. While this may not be a new approach, the eloquence of AI content generators and their ability to re-create the tone and styles of one’s writing makes these messages more convincing than ever.
So is AI an Enemy?
Not in itself, but it can be, in the wrong hands, for the wrong reason.
What to Avoid When Using AI Content Generators?
Remember the 3 C’s “curiosity, creativity, and competitiveness”. If your goals involve any of them, then AI is not the answer.
ChatGPT or any other AI tool:
- Can’t cover innovations or any new technology in full due to the lack of content out there
- Can’t create truly unique content simply because it it basing everything on already existing information
- Can’t write “between the lines”, create a specific mood, or direct user attention to specific areas without being obvious
- Can follow brand and voice guidelines if provided, but it cannot have its own signature
All of the above means it can not be superior to a truly talented and experienced professional human being.
It also means that it inevitably follows its own patterns that will be eventually recognized by other tools, people, and Search Engines (that already have AI-driven algorithms of their own).
Ways to Use ChatGPT for Your Benefit
So is it ultimately evil?
Absolutely not.
The reason we have started with so much negativity is to put everything into perspective and encourage businesses to stay vigilant, as AI poses dangers that haven’t been as common before. However, as with any tool, ChatGPT and others can bring significant value to business processes.
First of all, hats off to the developers. It is truly a piece of technological art, no arguments there.
But there is much more value than pure admiration.
Content Research
While creating content with AI or allowing fraudulent creators to fool you is not a good idea, these tools can be legitimately used to speed up and simplify research.
They can be especially useful within factual areas and common knowledge such as geography, science, mathematics, date-based history etc. Since these tools rely on facts, they can help accumulate data necessary for further content creation.
These tools can also be used to find specific information while keeping research in one place. The ability of AI tools to pretty much communicate with you enables very complex searches and can allow you to find the information you would struggle to find otherwise.
Tip: Just remember to ask it for references and double-check all information it provides.
Search Engine
ChatGPT can be a straightforward way to search for aggregated information with less distraction (at least for now). It also allows for a more seamless transition between related searches while avoiding or minimising repetitive answers you can sometimes encounter in traditional Search Engines.
This being said, if the goal is to form an opinion about something, it may be more valuable to use a more traditional approach and educate yourself with different sources of information that remain untampered with.
Efficiency Enhancement Tool
It can also be used to help with internal and personal task management and/or efficiency. All things equal, ChatGPT is a piece of software that can be added to your toolkit for improved efficiency.
It can be great at creating quick lists, reminders, working off templates, and it can be used to speed up manual, repetitive tasks that do not require additional human touch or research, providing that you offer an example or a base for it to start with.
Is AI the Future?
It is, and it is here. But I have to believe that human intelligence and experience is still more valuable. Our creativity as human beings brought us here. Our ability to think creatively and communicate is what makes us different from all other creatures on this planet. Without humanity, there will be no progress in business or elsewhere.
