Will AI doom the last of us? As a writer, I don't feel safe
AI seemed to happen gradually, then suddenly (to quote Ernest Hemingway, one of my favorite human authors).
In recent months, I've noticed that no matter what I'm doing online - writing a column in Google Docs, an email in Outlook, a note to a friend on Instagram - an AI bot will pop in to ask if I would like "help" crafting my message.
As someone who makes my living with words and enjoys using them, I find AI's uninvited intrusions into my day not just annoying, but alarming.
I'll admit, as an opinion columnist, I had thought that my skills were safe from robot replacement - at least in my lifetime. Aren't reason and persuasion uniquely human abilities? What does it mean if they aren't?
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Hot takes from an artificial 'mind'? No thanks.
Lest you think I'm overreacting, real-world newspapers in the United States already are turning to AI to craft news and opinion for their readers.
For instance, the Los Angeles Times has started offering online readers the option to read AI-generated counterpoints to the opinion columns it runs. The "Insights" feature judges the piece's point of view and then spits out an opposing argument.
That was the brainchild of Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who wants the opinion pages to reflect a broader range of views.
"If you just have the one side, it's just going to be an echo chamber," Soon-Shiong told Fox News about the project, saying he thinks it's important "that all voices be heard."
Now, as a conservative writer in a liberal media world, I respect Soon-Shiong's quest for balance. And I appreciate that my newspaper has crafted an opinion team with many different points of view - something that wasn't always the case.
But robots? Is that where we want other perspectives to come from?
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The Times, as you might expect, has already run into some awkward AI offerings. It isn't alone, though.
This month, several newspapers, including the Chicago Sun-Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer, ran a syndicated summer book list that included books ... that don't exist.
Only five of the 15 recommended books were real, although I'll acknowledge that some of the made-up titles sounded interesting.
The writer who "created" the list has admitted to using AI, and has since been fired.
The idea of news and commentary coming from a bot is unsettling, and not just because of my job security. Plenty of Americans feel the same way. New research from the Poynter Institute and the University of Minnesota found nearly half of those surveyed don't want news from generative artificial intelligence. And 20% said the media shouldn't use AI at all.
I decided to take AI for a test drive. What do you think of the result?
Given my fear of being replaced by a robot, I've stayed away from sites like ChatGPT, although I've received many examples from friends and family of what it can do.
But I decided to give it a simple prompt: "Write a column in the style of Ingrid Jacques of USA TODAY."
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In mere seconds, it "wrote" a 675-word column, complete with a headline and byline. I'll share the first few lines of what popped up:
The Uncomfortable Truth About Wokeism
By Ingrid Jacques
The American cultural landscape is being shaped by a force so pervasive, so influential, that it seems to touch every corner of our lives. I'm not talking about the rise of artificial intelligence, nor the latest social media craze. No, I'm referring to the ideology of "wokeism," which, like a slow-moving storm, is now fully entrenched in our schools, workplaces, and public discourse.
Not bad, right? And I thought the nod to AI was apropos, given the topic of this column.
It's still creepy, though.
Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.
With the current political divisions in our country, I believe that sharing different points of view in a civil way is more important than ever, and I worry about the implications if those "thoughts" are coming from something nonhuman.
So, while this may come as a disappointment to some of you, you're stuck with the "real" me.
For now.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques
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