Ever have trouble writing an email or need help proofreading a letter?
It’s become less of a problem as more people are taking to upgrades in artificial intelligence programs that can write an email, proofread a letter and more — especially with low-level tasks, said Victor Benjamin, assistant professor of information systems at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business.
“That’s where it’s going to have a lot of power,” Benjamin said.
That power is starting to enable people to simplify some tasks, but those experts who keep an eye on AI say its use can have unintended consequences.
Finding some breakthroughs The past year has seen a boon in the AI industry, particularly after one model — called ChatGPT — was released last year by OpenAI. Published reports say it became the “fastest- adopted technology of all time,” according to the website Wealthof-Geeks.com, which watches technology issues.
The software can help a user “choose more elegant” language when drafting an apology letter and help people “refine” their writing. The program uses predictive analytics to determine the next word or phrase a user may type, Benjamin said.
ChatGPT can also help users generate code for computer programs, he said. Some have created games similar to Tetris by giving commands to ChatGPT, Benjamin said.
“The technology is seeing promise,” Benjamin said.
An example on the OpenAI website shows a series of questions being asked to ChatGPT to determine the problem if a user cannot find it.
The program also has the capability to help be a personal tutor to students in a one-on-one interaction, Benjamin said.
Another separate model — DALL·E — is more for users interested in creating forms of art.
In January 2021, OpenAI introduced DALL·E and now DALL·E 2 “generates more realistic and accurate images” with four times greater resolution than the original, according to the OpenAI website.
The process is simple — users can type in a search bar and hit return. Moments later, a picture appears.
An example on the website shows an astronaut riding a horse while the sky is lit up from bright stars. Another example a user came up with is Charles Barkley eating cheesecake.
Another shows Pope Francis running from police — an image widely shared on the internet.
In the Charles Barkley example, the face looks melted and attached to what is supposed to be the cheesecake. But it’s about 80% correct, Benjamin said.
In business, artificial intelligence can help business owners attract new business while keeping current customers engaged, said Russ Morton, chief product officer at Constant Contact.
AI is “smart enough to understand what individual customers are looking for” and it draws on their behavior and preferences to “recommend the best content, channel, and time” to send a specific message, Morton said.
“Most small businesses do some form of email marketing, but they are typically only marketers by necessity — they are so busy running the show that it can feel overwhelming to find the time to attract new business and keep current customers engaged,” Morton said.
Potential problems
On the text side, ChatGPT can generate “the 10 most popular articles on Abraham Lincoln,” for instance. But ChatGPT lacks “ground truth,” according to Benjamin.
“It doesn’t actually know if (the articles) are the (10) most popular,” Benjamin said.
As of now, ChatGPT can’t fully automate, the assistant professor said.
“It’s a long way from being completely trustworthy,” he said.
Other potential problems loom, the assistant professor said. ChatGPT could analyze 1,000 online bullying conversations, for instance. Then, the program could create new iterations of making fun of someone.
“Yes, people could automate online harassment using things like ChatGPT,” Benjamin said. “It could even respond to people who reply to its harassment with even more harassment.”
Still, OpenAI’s chatbot “received ten million daily requests (and) it reached 100 million active users by January 2023, which will only increase as AIs become more integrated into our daily lives,” the Wealthof-Geeks.com reported.
Microsoft has “incorporated its AI Copilot” into its Office suite, the same report said.
So how do users get the positive outcomes from ChatGPT without the negative side effects?
“That’s a complex problem a lot of us don’t have the answer to,” Benjamin said.
The future
Over the past 12 months, the evolution of large language models “has been nothing short” of impressive, Morton said.
The adoption of the new technology could accelerate as AI innovation continues, the chief product officer said.
“All of a sudden, we can have dialogue with an algorithm and leverage it to produce high-quality content,” he said. “For small businesses, this technology is a game-changer. It’s already helping them compete better with bigger companies who have large teams and even larger budgets, and it’s also enabling them to get closer to their customers.”
Brent Ruffner joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2021 where he writes about developments at TSMC and Maricopa County issues, including election topics.
He's written about stories that range from accusations that a Mesa monkey breeding facility is unsafe to what to do if you encounter a rattlesnake in the desert.
Community: He is a supporter of the American Cancer Society.
Education: Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University, May 2007.
Random Fact: He met former San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays at a Phoenix Firebird game after winning a contest for an autographed baseball.
Hobbies: Hiking in the woods and collecting sports memorabilia.
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here