AI Is Bigger Than ChatGPT
With every other post talking about ChatGPT, are you getting confused? Or, are you using ChatGPT and AI interchangeably? Let’s have a look at what AI is, why ChatGPT is gaining such traction and how you need to consider the Dunning-Kruger effect when using technology in LX Design.
Defining AI
If Artificial Intelligence (AI) is simply the process of automation, it has the ability to perform tasks that a human would ordinarily do. So, to understand it better, let's look at the definition of 'artificial' and 'intelligence' independently of eachother. According to the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries (2022), the definitions are as follows:
Artificial: made or produced to copy something natural; not real
Intelligence: the ability to learn, understand and think in a logical way about things; the ability to do this well
Artificial intelligence: the study and development of computer systems that can copy intelligent human behaviour
So, at its very essence, AI is copying human behaviour and providing us with information or actions that improve the way we do things. It is so ingrained in our way of life (sometimes without us knowing) that you would have interacted with it many times over by the time you read this.
Examples of AI in our daily lives
I was speaking to a friend last week who told me they don’t know anything about AI and are terrified about how it is going to be such a big part of their lives. It got me thinking about how many times I had encountered something that was underpinned by AI and although it was only just after midday, I had interacted with many apps with this underpinning technology. There are many examples in our daily lives that already do this, including the following:
Have you ever had an ad on appear on your phone about something you were just thinking or talking about? Or, have you been searching for something, perhaps a new tv and all of a sudden only tv ads appear - this is AI;
Have you used Siri or Alexa? I have watched people request songs they want to dance to - 'hey Siri play smooth criminal' and I have seen it play something different and the person gets frustrated - this is AI;
Have you used the chatbots that appear online? They can be the most useful or most frustrating thing depending upon whether they answer your question straight away - this is AI;
Have you been provided with personalised recommendations based upon what you have clicked into on social media or shopped for? This is AI.
Have you used google maps? This is AI.
As you can see, there are many ways in which you may have already interacted with AI today. In the work context, you may have been catapulted into the world of AI through ChatGPT, but I want you to consider how AI has informed your LX Design practices already. For example, if you are using any of the following, you are using AI:
M365 apps: grammar checking, immersive reader, and translation services, this is AI.
Closed captions: these are automatically generated using AI.
Recommendation engines: when you are using software that provides recommendations based on the text or imagery, this is AI.
The reason why I highlight this is that although ChatGPT is leading the discourse at the moment, you will have been interacting with AI for a long time and you have adapted to using such technology.
But why are we talking about ChatGPT so much?
I have heard many discussions around ChatGPT and it’s being used interchangeably with AI. Whilst it is leading the discourse of AI in education at the moment, it is important that you realise that ChatGPT is another tool, a powerful one at that. To understand why it is leading the discourse, let’s take a look at how quickly the uptake of ChatGPT was.
In the image below, you can see ChatGPT took only 5 days to acquire one million users, whereas other popular online services such as Facebook, and Instagram took considerably longer. Whilst some would argue that the comparison is against services that were launched over two decades ago, one cannot argue that the speed at which this is being adopted is polarising.
How can we leverage tools like ChatGPT in LXD?
Whilst ChatGPT is a tool that has revolutionised the ways in which we think about AI, it isn't the only tool. This is only the beginning and we will continue to see many tools evolve, so how can you ensure you are effectively applying them to your context?
The Dunning-Kruger Effect
ChatGPT has provided access for millions to a tool that generates text in seconds. Since it is a tool like nothing most people had encountered before there was a lot of confidence in its use without knowing how it works and its impact. This leads me to the Dunning-Kruger effect.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is essentially when people with low expertise or experience overestimate their ability or knowledge without understanding their actual competence levels (Dunning, 2011). In relation to ChatGPT, HFS Research created the following diagram that outlines how high confidence with no knowledge can impact how you view and use ChatGPT. It suggests that, as you gain more knowledge of ChatGPT in this case, your confidence will initially decline and then eventually increase, but not to the point that you had at the initial stage.
We are definitely seeing the upward trajectory of confidence in relation to ChatGPT as users continue to use and explore its use. This is evident as we in education and LXD start talking about the challenges associated with it; challenges such as bias, ethics, accessibility and copyright.
How will this impact you?
Whilst ChatGPT is a tool that has revolutionised the ways in which we think about AI, it isn't the only tool and this is only the beginning. It is essential that you remember that ChatGPT uses large language models that are part of the AI family.
We mustn't forget that there are many decades behind AI, and as with any technology, we have to learn about the tools, approach it with a critical lens; explore the benefits, and challenges, but also the opportunities for LX Design. In the next post, I am going to explore how AI is shaping LX Design; what you can do to integrate it; and of course, the healthy scepticism you can approach it with.
References:
Dunning, D. (2011) The Dunning-Kruger effect. On being ignorant of one's own ignorance. In Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 1st ed., 44: 247-96.
Statista. (2023). Time it took selected social media to reach 1 million users. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/chart/29174/time-to-one-million-users/