In this week’s blog assignment, we were tasked in creating a prompt that allowed the generative AI software of our choice to then draft a 250-word post pertaining to this prompt. We were then instructed to copy this entry into a Google Doc and fix any errors in this entry, as well as spruce it up by writing it in our own words with factual embed links to further cite the claims made, as well as a correctly attributed image relating to the subject matter of the entry.
Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ywJb7MrCIy9-6IrmMosOHcvUEQxjJ48nCzCdePfhWGI/edit?usp=sharing
AI service used to generate my post: https://chatgpt.com/
Throughout this exercise, I found it to be an incredibly engaging experience that allowed me to further understand the complexities of this semi-new, emerging technology we appear to be on the forefront of. I’ve messed around with generative AI in the past, but this was probably the most I have had to utilize an AI application in an academic setting. One of the biggest takeaways I have from this experience is how accurate my AI-generated post was. I did not have to correct any information in the generated writing, it was entirely factual, from my deep understanding of the subject matter. I did, however, had to add slightly more detail, as the generative response it gave me seemed incredibly vague in certain areas and did not instill the most confidence if I were to read this post from a perspective of someone who did not know much about the subject matter. I am curious if this was possibly due to the word constraint I placed on the software. Since my prompt instructed ChatGPT to use approximately 250 words, and there is an extensive history on the subject matter I chose, it more than likely could not fit as much detail as I would have liked in certain areas of the post.
Like anything, I see ChatGPT and other generative AI softwares as a tool, and this assignment has only given me further evidence of that notion. I equate using this technology to similar experiencing growing up with teachers not outright encouraging the use of Wikipedia for academic writing, but rather utilizing it as a starting off place in establishing a baseline for understanding of the subject matter, as well as to check out the sources in the Wikipedia articles, as many of those are indeed reputable that contain factual information.
Overall, I valued gaining additional general insight through my use of generative AI in this week’s assignment. It has proven to me that this software can be immensely powerful and useful, but still has a lot of constraints that cannot be understated enough. It will be interesting to see the progression of this technology in the next 5-10 years, as well as how people utilize it in application; I am optimistically skeptical of the possibilities in how it will affect our future society.