If you’re looking for the next thing to change the world, look no further than artificial intelligence. Recently, I spent some time playing around with ChatGPT, and I was absolutely blown away by its abilities. In fact, as I write this column, I already have a ‘late to the party’ feeling. If you haven’t explored some of the AI resources out there, I encourage you to do so. The world is about to change.
Here are a few of the directives I entered into the ChatGPT database to see what it would produce:
- A letter to MRA members introducing our Annual Report.
- A screenplay about a 12-year-old trying to make it big in the movie industry. (My daughter Olivia is all-in on her acting career. See Oliviahallan.com)
- A legal brief citing Michigan law about whether a fight at work between two employees should be compensable as a workers’ compensation claim.
The results were utterly amazing. In just seconds, the system generated a near perfect piece of work. Each document was even formatted exactly as it should be. Sure, they were all a bit generic, but with very limited editing, each could pass as an original work.
The implications are far-reaching, both in and out of the retail context. Need some copy for a social media marketing post but struggling with writer’s block? Done. Need a diplomatic way to respond to a customer complaint on Yelp? Done. The use case possibilities are endless.
Of course there is potential for fraud. Students are already using the software to author term papers passing them off as their own. Will the film industry rely on AI in the midst of the ongoing writers’ strike? Even in retail, could an AI-generated description of a piece of merchandise cause inaccuracies and mislead consumers? One must proceed with caution.
A couple years ago, I mused about whether some day we’d be holding virtual meetings in the Metaverse. While that has yet to prove out, it seems that Artificial Intelligence has significant staying power. I think we’re just scratching the surface on what this technology can do.
