Saturday May 13, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 13, 2023

Happy AI Mother’s Day

Anyone looking to celebrate Mother’s Day with a personal touch can now turn to Moonpig, the online customised greetings card retailer, for assistance. The company is testing the use of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by OpenAI, to create personalised messages or poems for loved ones. ChatGPT has quickly become an essential tool in many industries since its beta version was released a few months ago. Estate agents in the United States use the tool’s automation to write property descriptions, recruiters prepare for an influx of AI-written cover letters and CVs, and media companies utilize the tool to write articles, albeit with concerns of alleged plagiarism. 

While the use of AI for generic text, such as greeting cards, may be the future, experts believe that it could also trigger a new renaissance in the value placed on personal emotions. However, some social media watchers are concerned about the cost to human connection and relationships over a lifetime. It’s important to think more deeply about the impact that AI has on our lives and how we live, cautions Andres Guadamuz, a reader in intellectual property law at the University of Sussex. Academics and teachers are already adapting assessments for the use of tools like ChatGPT, while others are advocating for co-creation with the model. Despite this, Guadamuz believes that society is not prepared for the ubiquity of AI-generated things in our lives, which may even extend to personal assistants, writing emails, doing taxes, or ending relationships. 

With ChatGPT, Mother’s Day can be marked with a unique, personalized greeting card, but it’s important to consider the role of AI in our lives and how we can best use it for our benefit. (AI)