How I Protect Myself While Using ChatGPT

I enjoy using ChatGPT to brainstorm content ideas. I like it because it comes up with perspectives I may not have considered and can expand on concepts, giving me sources and context at lightning speed. When I use it this way, it feels like I’m working with a super-smart assistant. But sometimes, things happen that highlight the fact that it makes mistakes that, if ignored, can cause big trouble.

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During a great ChatGPT brainstorming session, I asked it to create a list of titles for a guide I was putting together. I kept modifying my prompt until it gave me the exact titles that would attract my ideal audience. The list it generated was awesome, but one stood out, and I knew it was “the one.”

Without thinking, I opened the design app Canva and began designing social media images that included the ChatGPT-generated title. I even considered hopping on GoDaddy and purchasing the domain name. I was all in.?

Then I stopped everything cold. It hit me that I hadn’t checked to see if someone was already using the title I selected from the ChatGPT-generated list. A quick Google search revealed that ChatGPT had lifted the title word for word from an existing website. Someone had already built an entire business around it.

Needless to say, my heart hit the floor. I had almost made a huge mistake. Had I moved forward, I would have been guilty of plagiarism and copyright infringement without even knowing it. That means I could have been held responsible for stealing someone else’s work.?

Artificial Intelligence has emerged as a powerful tool that can make getting work done easier, but as we incorporate it into our content creation processes, it’s important to consider the ethical concerns that come along with using the still-emerging technology.?

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As a user of ChatGPT or any AI-powered tool for writing content, it is my responsibility to check the output it produces to make sure it doesn’t contain someone else’s work. It even says, “ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.” at the bottom of the ChatGPT chat window. Sounds impossible, right? Here’s my solution: treat everything ChatGPT produces as a draft that needs to be rewritten. Rewrite everything that comes out of ChatGPT in your voice, with your message and to meet your needs.

As a content writer, I respect the time and effort it takes for others to create content. Because I’m aware that ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools have the major flaw of including chunks of content written by others, I’ve integrated verifying sources, checking headlines and rewriting AI-generated content into my content creation process. Making these changes to my process protects me as a content writer and helps me create original, high-quality content. It also helps to ensure that my content is accurate, trustworthy and ethically responsible.

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