My Fellow Writers, What in the GPT is Going On?

Image Credit: geralt

Should we panic yet? Oh, my dear writers, while I am all in for technological advancements to a degree, are we inviting technology to grab our last bit of human creativity by replacing us in pivotal areas of communication? Exploring ideas, collaborating with other creative minds, and using our human senses, make us wonder if the latest language models will affect our intelligence vs. that of the artificial. Don’t think the idea of replacing writers and their livelihoods is off-limits or farfetched when it comes down to the invasion of the so-called human-like intelligence known as GPT.

For you writers making a living from your writing can you imagine being replaced by GPTs? I’m sure by now you have heard of those text generators, the AI chatbot known as a Generative Pre-trained Transformer. It is the latest addition already infiltrating many curricula and writing communities based on simple algorithms. While I am not a fan of this latest big disrupter because I enjoy writing, there are some legitimate concerns many have posed, such as how will GPT know what words mean without simply making stuff up? Or how will GPT not flood social media with more misinformation? Or, what will the impact be on determining whether a term paper or essay was written by a human or AI-generated? And if the writing assignment is produced by GPT and you submit it as your own, is this considered plagiarism? How will these text generators understand the meaning of words, verify accuracy, or get simple facts wrong? You have to ask how quickly this human-like intelligence will replace writers.

Well, we already invited many aspects of AI to do our thinking for us. Heck, virtual assistant technology has already manifested into performing various tasks that have become shortcuts to our day-to-day operations. Robots are performing functions that keep us from over-exerting ourselves when we say we are too busy to do them, like the iRobot vacuum cleaner or the Robotic Lawn Mower for example.

I don’t know y’all. True artists appreciate the art of creating, painting, or sketching their work. Sculptors appreciate getting their hands saturated in wet clay and molding their tailormade ceramics creatively. True photographers appreciate capturing an image through the lens of their cameras with an authentic eye. Writers, well you know, even despite writer’s block, we still enjoy observing, and documenting our thoughts, emotions, and divine interventions.

Many who entrust this technology said that we (humans) have to learn to work with GPT so that we will not become obsolete. Really? Are humans becoming obsolete? Somehow, I feel like I am living in the movie “Colossus: The Forbin Project,” or The “Matrix,” or “I, Robot.” Just how far will this AI compromise go? Lord, help us!

Image Credit: kiquebg