ChatGPT: What it is and how it can help us be better, change-implementing citizens
If you’ve opened any social media platform over the last few weeks, you would likely have heard the term “ChatGPT”. Either you love it, hate it, or you have no idea what it is. Either way, the odds are that these types of AI-powered platforms are here to stay, so we might as well get educated and see how they can work to our advantage, and that of our cities.
What is ChatGPT?
Maybe you’re new to the playing field of AI, and that’s OK: most of us are. According to the BBC’s Science Focus, ChatGPT is an AI model developed to relay information in a conversational way. How? Through generating human-like text from massive datasets on the internet based on the input it receives. Similar to Google, you input your data request into a search engine, but instead of being redirected to articles on the topic, you get a summary of information in a conversational way.
Is ChatGPT dangerous?
Well, for this we have to look at the nature of AI in general, and I do have mixed feelings. Although there is a lot of noise currently being made about platforms such as ChatGPT, it is crucial to understand that AI is already part of our daily lives.
In fact, look at all the ways you may already be using it:
Your smartphone assistant
“Hey Siri, are you an AI?”. If you’ve used Apple or Google’s voice command platforms to retrieve information, schedule a meeting or even to play music, you have used AI.
Social media
Have you opened social media today? You are part of a multiverse of AI algorithms that curate your news feed, suggest friends to add to your network, and target user-specific advertisements.
Facial recognition
When you unlock your phone with facial recognition, you use AI. The app on your phone that recognises a person in a photo? AI.
E-commerce
Have you ever been to an online shop where you asked a question to a chatbot? You guessed it, AI.
As you can see, AI is already part of our daily lives. As this future focused technology continues to advance, we will likely encounter even more.
Confirm information
Back to whether AI can be dangerous. As with all things related to the information overload in the world and on the internet, my rule is: double check and verify. Programs like ChatGPT use the internet to provide information based on the input received. However, they cannot determine whether information is true or not. Just like when you Google something, ChatGPT gives results based on data patterns. The danger, of course, starts occurring when online platforms write articles with ChatGPT and do not confirm their facts.
Here is a website where you can check whether a piece of information has been written by AI: https://writer.com/ai-content-detector/
We must prevent societal biases
Perhaps you’ll remember a few years back when many internet users across the world were, rightfully, up in arms over the image Google search for “unprofessional hair”. An input of the search showed only black hairstyles as inappropriate, while a search for “professional hair” showed white hairstyles.
If AI is not designed and used responsibly, AI systems can perpetuate and increase societal biases. It appears that ChatGPT makes use of responsible data analysis, and has perhaps been programmed to respond to biased-based inputs. Just look at the example below:
Photo: Feedback from ChatGPT based on user input.
To minimize risks associated with AI, it's important for us as a society to actively manage the development and deployment thereof. Government must ensure that AI platforms align with ethical principles and human values.
How can ChatGPT help me be a better citizen?
AI platforms like ChatGPT are accessible and informative. Although I will stick to my suggestion of always checking and confirming facts, it is an easy way to get a summarized answer from the vast amount of information available on the internet. People can use this as an opportunity to learn how to be better citizens, and how to contribute to improving our environments.
Here, I will let ChatGPT do the talking. Just take a look at what it said when I asked How can my European city contribute to the fight against climate change?
There are many ways that cities in Europe can contribute to the fight against climate change:
Transition to Renewable Energy: Encouraging the use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydro power can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy Efficiency: Improving energy efficiency in buildings, transportation, and industry through measures such as retrofits, better insulation, and more efficient lighting can help to reduce energy consumption and emissions.
Sustainable Transportation: Promoting sustainable transportation options such as public transit, cycling, and walking can help to reduce emissions from transportation, which is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Waste Management: Implementing effective waste management practices, including reducing, reusing, and recycling, can help to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, where it can release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Green Spaces: Increasing the amount of green spaces in cities, such as parks, gardens, and green roofs, can help to absorb carbon dioxide, cool the air, and provide habitat for wildlife.
Community Engagement: Engaging the community in the fight against climate change through education and outreach, and encouraging individual actions, such as reducing energy consumption, can help to raise awareness and drive change.
It's important to note that addressing climate change is a collective effort that requires cooperation and collaboration between governments, businesses, and individuals at all levels.
Final thoughts
Whether you like it or not, AI platforms are here to stay, and I suspect ones like ChatGPT is but one of the many more to come. I say that we should use these platforms to our advantage to make sense of the vast amount of data available in the world, but we should also keep government and stakeholders accountable to ensure that AI is developed with a healthy, unbiased society’s best interests at heart.
