I Tried ChatGPT. Here Are Seven Things I Learned.

#ChatGPT is everywhere in 2023. Of course, the #metaverse was the same way last year, and it seemed to fizzle out. But artificial intelligence seems to have more staying power, largely because it makes our lives easier. Though that has a good and bad side.

A few weeks ago, I first saw ChatGPT in action at my coworker's office.

But this weekend, I finally had opportunity to try the interface myself through the Bing search engine.

Of course, this is early in the game. Chatbots and AI-driven search will certainly go through many phases over the next few years.

But here are seven cursory observations.

ChatGPT is Really Scrawling the Internet for Data.

I am a firm believer in understanding how technology works before we use it. That helps us to be better informed, prevents conspiracy theories, and puts things in better perspective.

It didn't take me long to recognize that chatbots are really just using existing search engine results, but doing the work for us by putting the top results in one place.

When I asked who the dean of the CSUF College of Business and Economics (my employer) is, for instance, it pulled one of the articles I wrote in my job.

Just select the highlighted text to learn where the information is coming from.

The Biggest Danger is Loss of Jobs and Loss of Creativity.

We hear a lot about AI's dangers, from the risk of human extinction to privacy concerns to even the ability to decode our thoughts.

Who knows what risks await us in the future, but in the immediate term, I recognize the greatest concern as a loss of human jobs and a loss of creativity.

The internet has already transformed the world of work and study, but ChatGPT takes it to a new level by helping us get information without having to do our own research.

Of course, we will still need people to contribute to the web. In fact, more than ever, because that is where ChatGPT pulls from.

But creative-type jobs are on the chopping block. Or at least, will become a lot more technical and a lot less creative.

Consider this result when asking the chatbot to design a graduation speech that sounded like Taylor Swift.

There isn't anything here that couldn't be found through a traditional web search. But normally, a human would need to work on this for several hours. Now, it just takes a minute!

Say goodbye to some entry level office jobs for sure.

ChatGPT - FOR NOW - Seems Relatively Unbiased, But Focused on Major Viewpoints.

We're right to be concerned that chatbots might present one side of contentious political or social debates as being authoritative. And this will need constant vigilance in the future.

But for now, it appears that ChatGPT is apolitical.

Of course, that's because the algorithm is pulling from sources across the ideological spectrum.

Consider this question about open borders.

Taking a look at theology, I found some effort at evenhandedness, though with a bit of a bias toward simplicity and essential doctrine. I'd suspect that fringe movements would be at a distinct disadvantage.

AI May Know a Lot About You. But the Internet Already Does.

I searched for myself and I discovered ChatGPT knows my job title and alumni status.

But again, I recognize that this information is readily available through traditional search.

So if you want ChatGPT to know less - or more - about you, control what information is publicly available about you online in the traditional sense.

You Can Even Learn About the Departed on ChatGPT.

My mother, who passed away eight years ago, was certainly not well known in a digital sense. She barely learned to use the internet and had no social media presence.

But when searching her name, I discovered ChatGPT knew the dates of her birth and death. Though it mistakenly thinks she died in the city where she is buried.

Even creepier...ChatGPT knows when my parents married and that they dated for a "long time"! (How long would of course be subjective).

The source is Legacy.com, which is the go-to for funeral information and memorials these days.

So I would suggest ChatGPT as a simple way of getting obituary information in a few seconds.

I'd also caution against writing anything too private in memorial postings on Legacy.com, since it's apparently becoming AI public record.

ChatGPT Stays Away From Controversy.

There are some places that chatbots just won't go. And due to sensitivity, privacy, security and other purposes, I'd anticipate what's off limits to change constantly in the future.

Take a look at what happened when I asked about who's most beautiful.

Please also remember...just as with traditional search, what you look up in chatbots isn't private. So don't ask it anything illegal.

What Are the Risks to Mental Development?

I worry about ChatGPT's impact on two age groups on either end of the lifecycle - children and the elderly.

For kids, I fear chatbots will impede their learning.

Even if academics becomes more and more tech focused, there is something to be said for actually assembling information and coming to your own viewpoint - or at least articulating it on your own.

Will the next generation have as good of cognitive abilities as we have?

For the elderly, I worry that the positive benefits of limited technology use will be cancelled out by the mindless information retrieval that chatbots provide. As long as it is available, I'd suggest using traditional search to stay mentally aware.