“Something Went Wrong”… ChatGPT Angst

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?Hands up if you recognise this message? Hands up if this message is already prompting a type of angst which never even existed a matter of months ago?...

For those who don’t recognise it, this message is ChatGPT telling you that it is ‘down’ – not in an emotional way, because of course ChatGPT doesn’t do emotions, but in a technical way.

Someone I know in the content creation field confided in me that one day last week Chat GPT went down and he couldn’t do any work. He was joking of course, but only kind of, in the same way that Chat GPT wasn’t writing his 'dull topic' blog content, but only providing ideas (but only kind of).?

For many, who have far too rapidly come to depend on their AI imaginary friend to magic up quick and easy content, ChatGPT withdrawal has become another layer of ‘tech angst’, along with no internet connection or losing your smart phone.

Whether that dependence is in the form of scheduling a month’s worth of social media posts, the next blog outline or something bordering on a meaningful (but always insightful) conversation, far too quickly, GhatGPT has become a thing many people are starting to rely on.

And this is perhaps the first signs of a chink in its all-pervading armour. What happens when it’s not there? If it is prompting tech angst after only a couple of months, what happens in 2, 5, 10 years’ time when people are so reliant on Chat GPT writing their content that they have forgotten how to do it themselves?

I recently wrote about a February doom loop during which the end of the world as we know it felt particularly nigh. A conversation with a colleague at the time was about what would happen if the electricity grid / internet went down as a result of one of those once in a?millennium - but still happen – events (as it did in 1859 in fact).

We discussed the 9 meals from anarchy scenario. I told my friend that I would be better placed than many, living in the countryside with chickens and vegetables growing in the garden. She was dismissive. “They will just come from the cities and take your food.”

“No they won’t,” I replied. “Because without Google Maps they won’t know where to go...”

So perhaps this is where salvation lies for the human writing machine. I can safely say that I can write you however many words you want on most given topics with the writing skills I have acquired over the years - 10,000+ hours spent honing the craft and all that.

So while it may seem that my craft is heading for redundancy, like the AA roadmap that languishes in the spare tyre compartment, there may yet come a time when the limitations of bot generated content will become apparent.

Like what happens when ChatGPT generated content is based on content created by previous generations of ChatGPT? Will the world of content just become an increasingly bland grey sludge of words swilling around in ever decreasing circles around a plughole? Check the deteriorating quality of the music offered by the recommended songs based on this (Spotify) playlist for a glimpse into this future.

Unfortunately, having seen how far they've come in a matter of months, is the likliehood more that AI bots will quickly learn how to feign emotions, just as they are already appearing to have attained the guile to trick humans.

Perhaps, at some point real people, with real emotions, will re-appreciate the meaning of stories in their lives. It's the hope, but my fear is they proibably won't care, just as most people are happy for Spotify to lead their listening to familiar but increasingly bland places.

In the meantime, us copywriters are on the frontline at the moment and losing ground by the day. And the ChatGPT effect is spreading. A friend in tech, a successful coder in demand, was shaking his head in sympathy with me at Christmas. This week he told me, “I feel sorry for you because you’re on the frontline but, fucking hell, I’m next…”