full disclosure...
My Stance on Artificial Intelligence
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT are being trained on vast databases of texts created by humans. Beyond scraping publicly available works, companies like OpenAI openly admit to infringing on copyrighted materials like books, textbooks, and documents. Therein lies the problem.
Objectively
Originality, intellectual property rights, plagiarism, and dangerous biases remain unresolved.
Sources: NIST, The Lancet, CSR
Subjectively
Genuine creativity and originality are inherent human capacities that cannot be replicated by machines.
Sources: MIT Technology Review, World Economic Forum
Practically
Fact checking and sourcing are time consuming, and GenAI content still poses risks to SEO and reputation.
Sources: USC, CMR/Berkeley, Google
Full Disclosure
I do not use AI to produce titles, outlines, or drafts.
While GenAI tools are capable of producing coherent text, it is unable to do so with a consistent and distinctive brand voice. Further, these tools lack the intricacy required to infuse information with compelling narratives that will resonate with your target reader.
I do not use AI as a research source.
GenAI is not reliable for research because its information sources have not been vetted, it’s unable to cite its sources, and it lacks nuanced contextual understanding. Further, “hallucinations” can lead to GenAI weaving in outright false and potentially harmful information.
I might use purpose-built AI tools (and I'll tell you if I do).
I do recognize the specific use cases where AI integration can be beneficial for productivity without posing ethical or legal concerns. For example, I have used Otter.ai to transcribe my meetings for years. In this case, AI is used to offer a summary of the transcript for faster reference later.
