Does ChatGPT Create a Job Threat for Journalists?
By Gabrielle Lamontagne
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an advanced innovation of Chat Bot software. It can quickly come up with lecture notes and fact-based articles, given the right source material, though the results need editing before they are presentable.
Implications for the Future of Journalism
This technology could be used to reduce the time it takes to write articles, though it will take time before it is able to produce fully written content that is ready for publication. For now, I believe it might be used to construct a reasonable outline for an article (or video, with similar technology), but the storytelling aspect will still have to be produced and edited by humans who have a grasp on story structure, what is appropriate in a journalistic article (tone of voice, word choice, etc), and grammar. Grammarly, in a similar way, helps people to improve their writing by indicating tone of voice options and grammar issues, but it still needs to be operated by a human – and it is not always accurate. The same may be said for the current state of ChatGPT and similar technology. While some of its responses may be creative, they are no match for the limitless creativity available from the human imagination.
Conclusion
While it is indeed impressive technology, especially since the rest of Chat Bot development has progressed very little since its conception, ChatGPT is still not an effective replacement for humans who write articles in a creative way using facts, interviews, and more. Not to mention the editing process! ChatGPT might be a good start, but a computer still can’t replace the amazing imagination available to the human brain.