ChatGPT, a research and development firm developed by artificial intelligence, has deeply impacted conversations between journalists and the news industry. With its release back in November 2022, it had reached over a hundred million users in just the first two months.
ChatGPT has gained fame due to its detail-oriented human-like responses and its ability to provide conversational interactions with users. It can provide answers to questions, challenge incorrect assumptions and much more. It is being used by some of the most popular media companies like The Associated Press, Reuters, The Washington Post, BBC and The New York Times by helping them personalize content and increase their audience engagement. American based BuzzFeed is also planning to use ChatGPT for quizzes and to provide personalized content.
Jonathan Soma from Columbia University’s Journalism School calls ChatGPT a great tool for generating ideas and providing assistance to journalists. However, like any other suggestion, it may be incorrect or misleading and that is why it works best when used alongside journalists.
The main problem associated with ChatGPT is accuracy. OpenAI recently announced its subscription service called ChatGPT Plus and charges $20 per month for its users. Unfortunately, ChatGPT is known to provide wrong responses and moreover, Soma also claims it to hallucinate which is why it is essential to use it wisely.
Apart from not being able to fact-check properly and understand subtle expressions, the other challenge journalists may face is ‘fear’ due to the lack of knowledge about the technology. Journalists need to essentially play around with ChatGPT in order to understand its strengths and weaknesses.
OpenAI also ensures that none of their articles are biased in any way and all the content is proofread and edited by professional editors to make sure they are free of mistakes and errors. Despite the limitations an artificial intelligence-drive chatbot may have, it is quickly maturing and can help improve accuracy of reporting with its ability to query large datasets.
ChatGPT possesses great potential, however, it must be used carefully for it to be beneficial for journalists and the news industry.
