AI ai…ai…ai…

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI), what a complex and often controversial topic! I must confess, I've always been cautious about embracing new trends and technologies. Whenever I heard the words AI or ChatGPT, I tended to shy away. In my mind, I have convinced myself that it was a distant problem that might eventually fade away. I believed it wasn't relevant to me. But boy, was I wrong. Very wrong. AI is not going away, and it will undoubtedly have a profound impact on businesses, business owners, employees, and reputations.

The thought of it all is both daunting and mind-blowing; it's truly astonishing! To dip my big toe into the AI pool, I recently started experimenting with it to save time on creating social media posts for my social impact project, Re.Bag.Re.Use. Here's how it works: you simply type in your request, such as creating 30 TikTok captions, and then choose the "voice" you want, whether it be that of a life hacker, salesperson, or journalist. A few seconds later, the tool generates 30 well-crafted social media posts complete with hashtags and emoticons. It's incredible!

Time-saving: Undoubtedly, using an AI tool like ChatGPT will save you time. However, it's important to note that it won't do all the work for you magically. You still need to create the content; ChatGPT is simply a tool to refine your writing. You provide the inputs, and it helps you create better content based on your specific needs.

ChatGPT, as described on their website, is an advanced AI language model developed using AI technology. It is designed to generate conversational responses that mimic human-like conversations. In essence, it's a tool that aids you in improving your language and communication skills. However, to get the most out of it, you need to be as specific as possible with your inputs, otherwise the tool will return generic feedback that you will most likely share with many other companies who ask Chat GPT the same questions.

Relationship building: When it comes to building your business and your reputation, relationships are key. Human interaction and relationship-building have never been more crucial, especially as AI gradually takes over our lives for convenience. Understanding the nuances and insights into what is important to your various stakeholders is vital. Without this understanding, you won't be able to draft content that resonates with your audience.

Ethical referencing: I wholeheartedly understand the challenges that AI and ChatGPT present to academia. There's even an "academic researcher" voice option, which can be quite overwhelming. I recently had a conversation with a colleague who is busy with her PhD and teaches at various tertiary institutions. I am grateful for how fortunate we are to have access to strong academic insights within our team. There are ongoing debates surrounding the use of AI and the best practices for referencing it. From a business perspective, referencing and giving credit where it's due is non-negotiable when using specific sources, whether they are academic, business-related, or your own articles. Proper referencing is particularly important for academic writing. In the business world, the rules are slightly less strict. While you should still reference webpages, books, or articles when writing reports or media articles, tools like ChatGPT are more akin to Word, Excel, SurveyMonkey, or Grammarly. You don't need to reference every single tool you used to write a document.

I believe there's still much to unpack and develop regarding the ethical use of AI and ChatGPT in all industries. While some of us may be a little concerned about AI tools replacing our roles, we need to remember that personal relationship building is an exercise that AI is yet to replace. People want to do business with people that they share values and resonate with.

For more information on managing your reputation, visit www.reputationmatters.co.za or research@reputationmatters.co.za 021 790 0208

###