When it comes to the debate-worn topic of ChatGPT and generative AI (which I don't believe is truly AI, but that's a topic for another day), I sit squarely on the proposing end. Allow me to explain why.
You see, before the marvel of the internet happened upon us mortals, people would spend countless hours in the library, poring over encyclopaedias and voluminous textbooks seeking answers, then along came the world wide web which introduced online encylopaedias such as Wikipedia and Britannica, then more people followed suit developed more resources, loading the web with more information. Since these resources were too many for one to know which had the most relevant and up to date with information, search engines were built to meet this need. The term "Google" entered the Oxford dictionary as a verb due to the intensity of the need and the search engine juggernaut's efficiency at indexing and serving up relevant information to the populace.
Now, would person who once used libraries to study or research forgo the option of using a search engine such as Google and instead ferry themselves over to a library because, the use of search engines and the minimization of their effort is an affront to their sensibilities and hence is cheating? I think not!
How about the calculator? The calculator is one of those tools that made it such that I cannot tell, off the top of my head what 94-68 is or what 867+59 is, let alone multiplications beyond 11 by 11. To be fair, however, I was never that good at arithmetic to begin with. I like to say that I am not a 'born-with-smarts' kind of person; I am a 'hard work pays' kind of individual. Everything comes to me with a little bit more effort -more effort than most ,anyway. I digress. But would I strain my brain performing complex arithmetic offhead when I have the option of using a calculator? No way!
Would one get on a horse, donkey or a mule to go places, when the Mesopotamians gave us the marvelous invention of the wheel which the led to cars, trains and bicycles? Would I carry... You get my point.
Generative AI, and especially ChatGPT is a tool that makes work easier. I do not recommend it for school report or publishing (i.e. I did not use ChatGPT for this article) or any kind of work that requires crediting the original author since it is nothing more that an a data aggregating model. Its amazing functionality in creating clear and elaborate technical content cannot be understated, however.
I shamelessly use ChatGPT for my software development work. Bugs that would take me 24+ hours to debug, now take minutes. I use it for generating content on topics where I have little domain knowledge and end up learning a lot in the process, and for everything else in between, including generating lesson-based bedtime stories for my child.
Not to say it doesn't have its weaknesses, but as I stated earlier, that is a topic for another day - same day as when I'll be speaking on why Generative AI is not quite AI. Till then, ChatGPT away, Friend.
God bless!
