By Shailesh Goyal

An artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer), developed by OpenAI, has taken the world by storm. The internet is abuzz with its immense applications and potential to affect every field. It helps students with their studies, write job applications, and provide accurate and well-written answers to simple prompts.

The success of ChatGPT is fuelling the rise of similar tools driven by AI , with Google already having announced Bard. Microsoft has partnered with Open AI, the developer of ChatGPT, to accelerate Artificial Intelligence breakthroughs. The competition will only heat up going ahead.

Naturally , the popularity of ChatGPT has given rise to a lot of apprehensions about its impact on jobs. There are doomsday predictions about how millions will lose their jobs in less than a decade with ChatGPT and other forms of Artificial Intelligence tools replacing them.

I remember similar fears being expressed in the late 90s and early 2000s when many processes were computerised. Many people felt that they would be replaced with a computer and t lose their jobs. However, as they emerged, computers only made most, if not all, jobs easier. Things that required days to accomplish would be done in seconds or minutes. The impact of computers and their miniature versions in the form of smartphones is well-documented.

Coming back to ChatGPT, it is still a work in progress. Its knowledge is limited to 2021 data, which means it cannot answer current questions. The tool will play a vital role in our daily lives in the future. It will also have some impact on jobs, but to what extent and in which sectors, is difficult to say at this moment.

ChatGPT’s impact on strategic communications, which is my core field of work, also remains to be seen. Strategic Communications, PR, or Branding are highly creative tasks. There is always that human touch and emotion and that bright idea that makes something click, which the existing AI tools or Chat GPT will lack for a foreseeable future

That is not to say that ChatGPT won’t have any place in strategic communications. It will be a good source of information. And based on intelligent or targeted prompts, it can surely give us flawless content. It is like an evolved version of Grammarly where the text is not only corrected but also generated.

For now , it seems unfair to view ChatGTP in a negative light. As it can complement your work with helpful background information and context. It will be a great tool to assist human PR professionals with content generation, information or by handling customer services however, it can not replace the human touch and connection to emotions. Maybe AI has yet a long way to go to replace the skillful communicators.
However, what the future holds in store for us, only time will tell!

(The writer is Chairman of AMA’s Public Relations Committee and Founder Director of Simulations Public Affairs Management Services, a leading PR Consultancy based in Ahmedabad)