‘Why are you shaming me?': 30-year-old calls out stigma around ChatGPT
A young Aussie woman has revealed she was rejected from a job because she used ChatGPT during the recruitment process – unearthing a controversial new workplace trend.
Alexandra Frisby-Smith, 30, works as a virtual assistant. She recently applied for a role that would pay $80 an hour for five hours a week on an ongoing basis, resulting in an extra $20,000 a year.
Ms Frisby-Smith explained to news.com.au that she was going through the process which involved an interview, a questionnaire and a trial task.
She was then given a list of tasks her potential employer needs to complete daily and asked to streamline them.
'I was brainstorming and thinking, 'Can I do it this way?' Or that way, basically bending and stretching and working out what platforms would work best,' she said.
'Once I worked out an overview, I popped that into ChatGPT and it created a cohesive and beautiful way of representing my thoughts.'
Ms Frisby-Smith explained that since she was given 30 minutes to complete the task she figured using the AI tool was smart.
'The most efficient way was to brainstorm everything and then put it into ChatGPT, and that can make it cohesive and easy to digest,' she argued.
After completing the task, she received an email from her potential employer explaining that she hadn't been hired because of her 'heavy use of ChatGPT,' which Ms Frisby-Smith found confusing.
'I'm not trying to hide the fact that I use it. Everyone has their different views, and I can see why people dislike it because it takes the humanness out of writing, which I think is what she was concerned about,' she said.
At the end of the day, Ms Frisby-Smith ultimately thinks ChatGPT is simply a tool that makes her 'more efficient', so it is ultimately helpful.
The virtual assistant said once she posted about her experience on TikTok she was surprised to learn how many people were 'afraid' of ChatGPT.
'They are afraid because it is new and it is different but it can make us more efficient but people are also feeling threatened,' she said.
'It is like having an assistant, like a real-life person you're working with and collaborating with.'
Ms Frisby-Smith ultimately stands by her use of the AI tool and doesn't understand why there's a stigma around it.
'Why are you shaming me? When are we going to stop shaming people who use it?' she asked.
The 30-year-old might have embraced the online tool, but others on social media are far wearier and don't see using the program as acceptable.
'When are we going to start shaming people for being too damn lazy to do the bare minimum?' one asked.
'Girl, come on,' another said.
'I use it,' one admitted.
'Nothing wrong with using it, but it's the lack of attention to detail that would've been the reason,' someone else noted.
'I'm struggling to take this seriously,' another chimed in.
'Nah, I think being able to write correspondence yourself is an important communication skill,' one argued.
'When are people going to realise that employers need to know your capabilities and not AI's capabilities?' someone asked.
'Don't get me wrong, ChatGPT is super useful, but something you're submitting should always be in your own words,' another recommended.
Recruitment expert Roxanne Calder told news.com.au that ChatGPT has already become the norm in the job interview process.
One big thing she's noticing now is people sending through resumes using the AI chatbot and not bothering to add their own flair.
'Resumes get sent through in third person now,' she said.
Ms Calder is realistic about the new technology, saying there's no point ignoring it, otherwise you'll get left behind. However she does think it needs to be used wisely.
'These tools are really great, and everyone should get across them and work out how to integrate, but it is really obvious when someone uses it and doesn't add their own words,' she said.
Ms Calder said Chat GPT is fine if it is treated like a tool but it shouldn't be relied on to do your work for you.
'If you are lazy and don't integrate your thoughts, then the work isn't yours. If someone presents a piece of work to you and you ask them questions about it and they can't answer them it is undeniable you've used ChatGPT,' she said.
'It should be used as a tool only.'
If you're making the chatbot app do all the work for you, then in Ms Calder's eyes, you've 'lost credibility'. And of course, that is going to hold you back from securing jobs.
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