AI technology is becoming part of everyday life, with advances being made in a number of areas. One of the most talked-about is Open AI’s ChatGPT, an AI-powered platform designed to generate written texts. But while it can be used for many things, such as snappy home listing descriptions and automated customer service emails, some people are now using ChatGPT for something that may be slightly more concerning: secretly completing their jobs.
As revealed by Vice’s Motherboard, some workers are using ChatGPT to do as much as 80% of their job without their employers knowing. Ben, a tech worker who spoke to Vice on the condition of not using his real name, uses ChatGPT for a number of tasks, like putting together reports, storyboards, and presentations. He even uses it to write Slack messages to his manager. Similarly, Daniel, another worker whose name was changed to protect his identity, uses ChatGPT to put together emails for his job as the director of a tech company.
While people have been using text-generation software for years, the success of ChatGPT in creating written text that feels more natural and human-like, has propelled the platform to become extremely popular. This has, however, raised fears about the potential for misuse and an MITRE-Harris research found that 72% of Americans are worried about the potential for nefarious use, while another found that 42% fear that AI platforms could make it harder to get a job.
While many people worry about robots taking over, there are still others who argue that the ethical use of ChatGPT can automate certain processes to free up workers’time and help them focus on more complex tasks. Web developer Marcus Merrell wrote that the “management should want developers to generate [the most simple tasks] automatically so they can spend more time on features that can go to market faster.”
The debate over the potential misuse of AI technology and ChatGPT continues, and while the potential benefits are clear, it stress the importance of devising a moral framework for the use of these tools. Even if it’s just for simple tasks like writing emails or Slack messages, using ChatGPT could be seen as an act of deception, and workers should check with employers whether or not using AI-generated texts is acceptable before taking this route.
ChatGPT is a platform developed by OpenAI, a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence provider founded in 2018. OpenAI’s goal is to create and singularly advance AI technologies in order to benefit humanity as a whole. The service works by using machine learning algorithms to produce output such as responses to questions or automated pieces of text. ChatGPT has recently skyrocketed in popularity, due to its ability to produce text with a human-like voice.
Regarding the people mentioned in the article, Ben is a tech worker who uses ChatGPT to generate reports, storyboards, presentations, and Slack messages for his job. On the other hand, Daniel is a tech company director who uses ChatGPT to automate emails. Both of them use the AI platform to do 80% of their jobs while secretly passing ChatGPT-generated products as original works, something that’s considered unethical in the workplace.
