SIU PRSSA Southern Illinois University Public Relations Student Society of America
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ChatGPT has recently been the main topic of conversation in the world of Artificial Intelligence. Users are able to ask ChatGPT anything and it will come up with a response that is almost too human-like. But what is ChatGPT? Well, according to itself it is “an AI-powered chatbot developed by OpenAI, based on the GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformer) language model. It uses deep learning techniques to generate human-like responses to text inputs in a conversational manner.” Using ChatGPT is simple and can provide an answer to almost anything someone may ask it. However, this has seen many ethical dilemmas as well. There has been an uprise in TikToks that have been able to inform students that this bot is capable of writing essays for them. In turn, many students have used ChatGPT to write their essays for them and complete homework assignments with almost no traces of plagiarism. This can be troublesome for teachers and professors alike as something as powerful as ChatGPT can be used by students to cheat their way through classes.
However, ChatGPT is not all bad. Many companies are starting to implement this newly created AI to help jumpstart creative and content driven ideas. In the case of Public Relations, PR professionals can use ChatGPT to create new social media posts, enhance brand identity, and even ask for help in crisis management. Mission North, a strategic communications agency based in San Francisco, has been looking into the use of ChatGPT for “creative and content-development processes”. Their main goal with ChatGPT is see how it can “serve as an organizational tool, pulling together background notes or statistics on publicly available and previously documented information”. However, ChatGPT should not be completely relied on.
CNN recently reported on a case where Vanderbilt used ChatGPT to write a mass email acknowledging the shooting that occurred on Michigan State’s campus on February 13, 2023. Vanderbilt was quick to respond when students started to realize a strange text at the bottom of the email stating, “Paraphrase from OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023.” This, of course, created a lot of commotion with an apology coming the next day.
ChatGPT is a learning AI chatbot. As more people ask it questions it can gain a better understanding of how to help those who need it. The world of AI is just beginning and as ChatGPT continues to grow along with other AI tools, there can be many opportunities for not only those in Public Relations but in any form of work to gain an advantage in producing content that can change the world.
