How ChatGPT can influence our job sector

When I arrived at my office in the morning and began compiling information for the annual report of my organization, a news notification on ChatGPT caught my attention - ChatGPT reaches 100 million users two months after launch. It has been five years since I have been working in the development communications sector. I wondered how ChatGPT and artificial intelligence would impact my work and area of expertise. Are my dedication, passion, and love for what I do and my workplace so easily replaced by AI? If answers are yes, can and will AI replace me and others working in this sector-passionate people who, like me, have dedicated years of their lives and made countless sacrifices to build their respective careers in development communication?

One could argue that the applications of AI are limitless. AI relies on human intelligence, which is why some may not perceive it as a threat that adversely impacts humanity in the grand scheme of things. However, some now believe it is a threat because it can carry out human-like tasks. Can ChatGPT, which has started getting users faster than TikTok, be used as a tool to enhance efficiency, or does it, pose a significant risk to young professionals? Will this technology make us redundant in the workforce - especially entry-level jobs such as paralegals, copywriters, and social media associates? The answers to these questions are more complex than they may seem. After all, AI-driven technology is still in its early stages of development. And until that day comes when we definitively know whether machines will take over the world or that humans will always have control over technology, one thing is sure: we are in for a period of change. Subject to truly democratic oversight, humankind can harness the potential of artificial intelligence as a collective force of betterment. Whether AI will replace human workers is predicated on the assumption that AI and humans share the same qualities and abilities. While this may be true to an extent, it's improbable that AI will be able to possess one distinguishing human quality: emotional intelligence, which facilitates "thinking outside the box".

That said, the fear that AI will significantly reduce, if not eliminate, the demand for our professional skills should be taken seriously. Humans must constantly improve their skills to compete with AI regarding more routine tasks. In 2020, the World Economic Forum identified ten critical skills, including creativity, critical thinking and complex problem-solving. Humans also have soft skills that relate to emotions, resolving conflict, and motivation. Complementing the crucial technical skills, young professionals stepping into the job market would need all these skills to compete with AI. The reasoning here is to use AI, more specifically ChatGPT, to supplement one's skill set rather than become completely reliant on it.

Recently, a student from the Bangladesh University of Textiles produced a whole comic book where the story was written by ChatGPT and Dall. E 2. Its images were made by Mid journey. In an article sharing his experience, he said he had to improvise his commands in a certain way to enable AI to reflect what he was imagining. For instance, he had to provide detailed information on the characters, situation, and context of the comic storyline to ChatGPT. His experience demonstrates why developing our existing skill set is one of the smarter ways to harness the power of AI. In practice, this would involve, for instance, gaining in-depth knowledge about using AI as a tool.

I suppose it's safe, for now, to say that the human brain will always be needed to give instructions, mimic, and execute what to write and how to design. AI, on the other hand, will facilitate performing certain tasks faster. Nevertheless, rejecting outright the legitimacy of AI and chatbots like ChatGPT without investigating its positive applications wouldn't be wise.  People from various parts of the world appear to be spellbound by this skillful artificial intelligence technology.

However, we also need to remind ourselves that there is no alternative to creativity and emotion - both in our personal and professional lives. Falling back on something the CEO of Adobe, Shantanu Narayan, said seems appropriate here: "Machine learning is going to change every single aspect of technology, but no machine will be able to mimic the creative ability of the human mind." Without being too presumptive, humankind will likely benefit more if it thinks seriously about the more significant questions concerning using technology as it decides what to do with applications like ChatGPT and AI as a whole.

The writer is a communications specialist at Centre for Peace and Justice, Brac University