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It only took artificial intelligence seconds to replace Zan Comerford.

Comerford, the founder of Litework Marketing in Nelson, had been writing news releases throughout the day when her husband insisted on showing what ChatGPT could do. He demonstrated by asking it to write a release similar to what she had been working on.

It generated a document that was a reasonable facsimile of her work, and did in less than a minute what shesa国际传媒檇 just spent hours on.

sa国际传媒淚 was sunk. I was like, sa国际传媒榯here goes my job, there goes the future of humanity.sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒�

Since the public version of launched in November, it has proven to be a generational moment in the history of the technology. Itsa国际传媒檚 as important as the introduction of the iPhone, or the emergence of social media.

AI is omnipresent in todaysa国际传媒檚 world. Itsa国际传媒檚 working behind the scenes every day on phones, Google searches sa国际传媒� even Netflix.

But ChatGPT is different: Itsa国际传媒檚 a natural language generator that pulls information from the internet to form what is the most statistically likely response to user questions or commands, known as prompts. And it does so in a human voice that can be conversational and even a little disarming.

Its responses are seemingly limited only by onesa国际传媒檚 imagination. Ask it to write a short story about aliens who want ice cream and it will start typing in front of your eyes. Ask it to provide a vegetarian recipe for dinner, or a weekly exercise plan, or for the meaning of life and itsa国际传媒檚 there in moments.

The emergence of whatsa国际传媒檚 known as Generative AI has come as a surprise to people in Nelsonsa国际传媒檚 tech community.

Shortly after ChatGPTsa国际传媒檚 release, Brad Pommen of Nelsonsa国际传媒檚 SMRT1 Technologies was driving with some of his employees to meetings in Vancouver. The company, which specializes in touchscreen-based vending machines, had previously tested chatbots and decided they werensa国际传媒檛 very good.

But on the trip, designer Greg Coppen began playing with ChatGPT and the group soon realized its potential.

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e all just spitballing and entering this text and getting instant results,sa国际传媒� says Pommen. sa国际传媒淚t doesnsa国际传媒檛 replace anybody at this point, but itsa国际传媒檚 not far off from needing less resources and doing more with less that really caught my attention.sa国际传媒�

Itsa国际传媒檚 also far from a finished product. The, which was released by the American company OpenAI in mid-March, may be able to pass a bar exam, but it still makes factual errors (ask it to write your online bio and yousa国际传媒檒l probably be surprised by the response). Even though it can write in Shakespearean English, its writing probably wouldnsa国际传媒檛 have impressed The Bard.

Thatsa国际传媒檚 provided some peace for Comerford.

She began experimenting with ChatGPT and found it worked best as an idea generator. It couldnsa国际传媒檛 provide inspired marketing campaigns for Comerfordsa国际传媒檚 clients in the tourism and cannabis industries, but it could be used to finesse her own thoughts and help Comerford overcome occasional writersa国际传媒檚 block.

It was a tool, she realized, and not one that would soon take her job.

sa国际传媒淚f a machine gives you the bones, then you can build from there. I havensa国际传媒檛 experienced anything with AI or ChatGPT yet that I would publish without tweaking, so that makes me feel a little bit more relieved.sa国际传媒�

Pommen has come to the same conclusion.

SMRT1 has begun using ChatGPT to write grant proposals, summarize points and even build pro and con lists. What will it be able to do in a month or a year? Pommen is intrigued to find out.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 always looking for the positive side of things. I am never focused on the negative. And I see this as just another opportunity of creativity exemplified.sa国际传媒�

The classroom is real. The teacher isnsa国际传媒檛

Keeping students engaged can be a chore for Hazel Mousley.

Mousley is an online French tutor with students ranging in age from four to 80. The younger they are, the harder it can be for Mousley to connect with them.

But they seemingly respond to AI.

One of Mousleysa国际传媒檚 students is a 10-year-old girl who loves figure skating and is, unsurprisingly, not as invested in her French homework. Mousleysa国际传媒檚 solution was to ask ChatGPT to write a short play in French about a girl and her stuffed elephant at a skating competition. It was a hit with the student.

sa国际传媒淭he play is very short, and Isa国际传媒檓 just astounded at how simple the vocabulary is and how hilarious it is.sa国际传媒�

Every tutor Mousley knows is using ChatGPT. Not only can it interpret a studentsa国际传媒檚 poor grammar and spelling prompts, it also responds with empathy. Her students treat it like a friend and Mousley sometimes feels like she is only a witness to the lesson.

The loss of direct influence can be worth it. Mousley says the right prompts provide exercises geared at any level of language.

sa国际传媒淚f I have a student learning a very specific grammar piece, it might be hard to find exercises. It would take me a long time to create an exercise on that. I can just say [to ChatGPT], sa国际传媒榃rite whatever using this grammar concept as much as possible.sa国际传媒� And then, holy crow, it creates some very compelling pieces doing that.sa国际传媒�

But if ChatGPT can ask questions, it can also give students passable answers that have prompted plagiarism concerns among educators.

To illustrate this, Dr. Theresa Southam, Selkirk Collegesa国际传媒檚 co-ordinator of the Teaching and Learning Centre, suggests a prompt: Ask ChatGPT to write 1,000 words on the British North America Act of 1867, which led to the creation of Canada. The AI responds with a serviceable essay in seconds.

This, Southam says, should challenge instructors to ask students more nuanced questions. When one Selkirk teacher found ChatGPT nearly passed their online course, Southam says, it encouraged them to review their material.

sa国际传媒淎s soon as you get into creative and critical thinking, thatsa国际传媒檚 where ChatGPT has trouble and thatsa国际传媒檚 where we want to take our work,sa国际传媒� says Southam. sa国际传媒淲e want to have creative and critical thinkers.sa国际传媒�

Southam has spotted other errors. The chatbot sometimes pulls information from sources like blogs that donsa国际传媒檛 hold up to critical analysis. Its answers are pancultural and struggle with regional context. ChatGPT also doesnsa国际传媒檛 have access to oral histories, and omits cultures with poor access to the internet.

ChatGPT may have answers for everything, but it cansa国际传媒檛 tell you much more about your community than Wikipedia can.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 realizing that itsa国际传媒檚 only one part of human collective intelligence thatsa国际传媒檚 being represented in the results that are getting spit out.sa国际传媒�

The master and apprentice

Abby Wilson points to four images of Kootenay Lake on her screen and begins picking them apart. One has missing reflections. Another has incomplete sun beams. None of them catch the eye.

Each is a variation on a poor picture she took from her phone of a ferry crossing the lake, then uploaded to the AI image creator . Wilson, a Nelson-based landscape painter, can see errors in each image. But she can also see how they might be improved.

In her studio, Wilson paints her own image based on elements suggested by Midjourney. The sun breaking through clouds is now more dramatic, and the ferry is more visible. Using AI is giving her a different perspective on her own art.

sa国际传媒淚 think first draft is a good way to think about it. Just making a visual variation like taking an old painting and asking how could I have made this better? Just different takes on an idea.sa国际传媒�

Midjourney, one of several AI image creators available for free or trial use, operates similar to ChatGPT. It scrapes the internet for image data, then responds to text prompts by creating original art in any style you want.

But it comes with its own controversies. Midjourney uses image data without consent. So if yousa国际传媒檝e put any type of visual art online, Midjourney could be using it without your knowledge.

Wilson acknowledges this and points out other shortcomings shesa国际传媒檚 noticed. Itsa国际传媒檚 not particularly good at drawing real places (a request for images of Nelson returns with a city that captures its vibe but wouldnsa国际传媒檛 fool any residents).

It also has a racial bias sa国际传媒� white people make up the majority of its image subjects.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 trained on the images that we have out there, and the images we have are out there are based on our biases. So it reflects that back.sa国际传媒�

But Wilson is still excited by Midjourneysa国际传媒檚 possibilities. Shesa国际传媒檚 OK with the ethics of it so long as it is only using reference images she provides, and the only work she sells are her own paintings.

She also doesnsa国际传媒檛 worry that AI art will replace her. All art is iterative sa国际传媒� Wilsonsa国际传媒檚 own style is influenced by the Group of Seven sa国际传媒� and her patrons know there is only one Abby Wilson.

sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 feel super threatened because sa国际传媒� the nature of the art market is that originals do have more value.sa国际传媒�

That certain something

AI has prompted an important question: should we use AI in these ways?

Some of the most influential voices in tech say no. Last month, an open letter signed by over 2,000 people sa国际传媒� including influential Canadian expert Yoshua Bengio sa国际传媒� called for a six-month pause on AI development until safety protocols are added.

Avi Phillips is of two minds about it. The owner of Transform Your Org, a Nelson-based digital services company, has been using ChatGPT to create content for social media posts and websites as well as develop an outline for an ebook. He describes his first experience with ChatGPT as magic.

sa国际传媒淭he thing that I loved about the internet, initially, was anything I wanted to learn about was there available for me, and with ChatGPT Isa国际传媒檓 back to that kind of child-like feeling of learning things at my speed.sa国际传媒�

Phillips also sees AI with open eyes. He worries about how it might be used to spread misinformation, which is easily done, since ChatGPT has no built-in fact checker, or for malicious activities like making deepfakes, which are images altered to recreate a personsa国际传媒檚 likeness.

He also doesnsa国际传媒檛 think OpenAI should have released ChatGPT to the public before it had finished development. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e all part of this guinea pig training for this AI.sa国际传媒�

Joe Boland, a Trail-based health coach and owner of Darn Strong Dads, uses ChatGPT to draft curriculums specific to his clientssa国际传媒� needs. Recently he asked it to write out a six-month schedule that included nutrition exercises, homework assignments and biweekly Zoom meetings.

The result impressed Boland, but hesa国际传媒檚 found the AI fails when tasked with finding solutions to peoplesa国际传媒檚 health issues. It can fill a spreadsheet, yet cansa国际传媒檛 understand people.

It reminds Boland of his time working at a call centre. He remembers answering the phone to frustrated customers who were immediately relieved to be speaking with a person and not navigating an automated system.

sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 why I donsa国际传媒檛 necessarily fear that something like ChatGPT or AI could replace what we do, because there is a certain je ne sais quoi about needing to talk to somebody, especially with something as vulnerable as our health or our wellness or whatever else.

sa国际传媒淲e need that human connection that I donsa国际传媒檛 think AI can necessarily offer.sa国际传媒�

But itsa国际传媒檚 also not going away. As people race to figure out how AI can help or hinder them, Phillips says they also need to consider the deeper question of what this means for humanity.

sa国际传媒淥ne thing is for sure, we have to have this conversation. We cansa国际传媒檛 pretend itsa国际传媒檚 not there. Itsa国际传媒檚 the new paradigm.sa国际传媒�

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| tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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