T5 AI: Friend or Foe?

OpenAI only released Chat GPT in October 2022 then updated it with GPT 3 and 4 versions and a browser company introduced/integrated Bard more recently.  A visual creator tool ‘Dall-E’ predated it, but, taken together, in terms of accessibility to any and all of us, these tools haven’t been around very long.

The question is: is AI a fundamental ‘game changer‘ – not just for robot creators like Boston Dynamics [See their robot immitating Mick Jagger and most of the Rolling Stones], but for the man in the street, at school, at university (teachers and students and indeed the institution, the system), at work…? ….

Did things just get better or worse….?

In terms of Publishing generally and Digital Publishing in particular:

• If AI is ‘briefing‘ itself by researching existing materials which have been produced and tested by researchers, writers and editors, isn’t AI just plagiarising them (even if it puts things into its ‘own‘ words the content and meaning of what is produced could (should?) be considered as the inellectual property of others.  AI is simply standing on the shoulders of (human ‘giants‘)… There are legal cases presently set to test this: AI had to ‘learn’ from somewhere….from someONE?
• AI will also read published materials produced by other AIs, ‘acquire‘ from them and absorb them into its databases then produce new materials which compound the artificiality and lack of human creativity in some sophisticated travesty of an almost infinitely fast game of Chinese Whispers.
• The temptation to use low-cost/high-volume-output, AI content-generators to populate Corporate Social Networks and website content might well have the effect of ‘sterilising’ the hoped-for ‘relationship‘ (if customers are looking for such a thing and it is actually feasible to produce) between companies and their clients. After a while, the homogenisation of AI output will almost certainly make it more and more insipid, standardised, unappealing and unattractive. Recruiters are reportedly already sick to the back teeth of ‘identi-kit‘, AI-produced covering letters and CVs: ‘Can spot them a mile off‘ and ‘just identifies for us who we DON’T want!’, is fast becoming the prevailing viewpoint.

SO… what should be the Communications/Publishing Industry perspective on AI?

Friend or Foe???

Debate Instructions

• Divide yourselves into two teams of equal size.
• One side is for ‘Friend’ … the other for ‘Foe’
• Each side will decide who will participate in the oral debate and who will produce a written report of their team’s principal arguments
• Each team must set about brainstorming and researching the issues and arguments together and how these may best be presented in the debate and the team’s report.
• Each team should also consider what they suspect may be the other team’s arguments so that they can decide how to forestall and counter them (‘know your enemy‘ and his plans has long been recognised as the first rule of battle!).
• Both report-writing and presenting teams will prepare fully for the Debate (NB. the report will be due in on the Day of Debate).
• The Debate will take place (I will give you specific nstructions as to how it will operate and I will act as Chairman/Referee?).
• After the debate we will discuss:
  • what we see as the most compelling arguments on both sides
  • how you will take forward this knowledge into your careers in order to:
    • get the ‘best’ out of AI/IA (it’s efficiencies, economies and effectiveness – those dreaded Es again!) where it is appropriate to do so
    • how to protect yourselves and your employers from the ‘downside’ of AI/IA.

Debate Date to be advised….

T