BOT (Bought) me not!

The buzz around the new BOT on the Tech block was making me go crazy, and I decided I will join the bandwagon too. Google will be out of business someone mentioned, while another said education is going to become redundant, well the thing about education becoming redundant had little effect on me as I had already used and misused what was taught at school and work and hardly had another decade of effective working life ahead of me and realized education cannot get me far anymore. Then someone said writers are going to be extinct as the new kid can write Prose and poetry with poise. Now, that hit me and I had to take a quick call and write a Requiem for my Blog. RIP Writers and bloggers, I told myself.

The doubting Thomas in me still refused to believe and buy into the idea that a couple of chips, wires, waves and cryptic codes could invade and hijack my thought process and creativity. After all we are “The Creation” isn’t it? And the new kid is just our creation.

So, armed with a user name and password I decided to confront the new Frankenstein in the room out to destroy the creativity of mankind. The gladiator in me walked into the coliseum to take on the massless but artificially intelligent rival!

Will a writer become redundant now that AI can write poetry and prose with ease? I asked

The speed at which it/he/she/they replied amazed me. I heaved a sigh of relief as I read the contents with bated breath...Relieved I was!

The new kid ChatGPT surrendered saying it can only generate text and acknowledged the fact that it does not have the same level of creativity, nuance and emotional depth as human writers and will not be able to bring the cultural context that a human writer can bring to text.

I have posted the complete transcript at the end of this blog. But what impressed me was the humility with which ChatGPT acknowledged its limitations. I totally admire the quality and speed at which technology surprises us every day. However, we humans are gifted with a power unique to us when compared to other living species that inhabits the universe. It is the power of discernment, which is also considered a virtue, decision making with discernment involves both the heart and the mind. Discernment is an important tool in Management, Personal life, and even Technological decision making.

ChatGPT might have an edge over us in the head part of decision making as our brains are wired in a complex way which can, to a certain extent be replicated outside the boundaries of the skull. But, the way of the heart is out of bounds to tech yet, except for the fact that tech can keep it oiled and working for just a while and not more.

Chat GPT stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformer and as the name suggests it is Pre-trained and it needs a trainer, that is us, to transform our queries/prompts. I’m not a naysayer of Tech and hope that it goes on to add value to human existence, but with the same humility that ChatGPT exhibited to my query I should admit that 'THE CREATION', that we are, happen to be far ahead of anything we create.

So, our 1000+grams of grey matter, any day will outclass the creation of latest chips, waves, codes and wires

Now for the fun part!!! Please find below the transcript of my interaction with ChatGPT

My Prompt: Will a writer become redundant now that AI can write poetry and prose with ease?

Artificial intelligence (AI) can generate text, such as poetry and prose, using a variety of techniques, but it does not mean that human writers will become redundant. While AI can generate text that may be grammatically correct and coherent, it does not have the same level of creativity, nuance, and emotional depth as human writers.

AI-generated text is based on patterns and trends found in existing text data, and it can produce results that are impressive in terms of its technical capabilities, but it lacks the ability to understand the human experience, emotions, and the cultural context that a human writer can bring to the text.

Additionally, the creative process of writing is not just about producing text, but also about exploring and understanding the world, expressing oneself and connecting with others. For many writers, the act of writing is a form of self-expression and personal exploration, which is not something that can be replicated by AI.

Moreover, as technology advances, so too do the expectations of readers. They are becoming more sophisticated and discerning, and they expect to be engaged in a way that is hard for AI-generated texts to match.

In conclusion, while AI can generate text, it does not replace the role of human writers. Human writers bring creativity, emotional depth, and cultural context to their writing that AI cannot replicate. The role of human writers will continue to be important in literature, journalism, and all forms of written communication.