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Or… Adam takes on ChatGPT and Co, using our uniqueness and allowing modern tools to enhance our progress rather than kill us off!

A lot has been made about all the freakin' AI tools that have appeared lately, and it can all get a bit overwhelming and potentially worrisome.

It was ever thus – there's always been a new technology that comes along and upends what's gone before, and there will always be losers… but also winners! Things are gathering pace and are reaching the exponential curve which may make these latest developments the biggest leap yet. So how best to prepare and be the ones who work it all to our advantage?

We can all be a Luddite here and there. Some more than others of course, but there are many things we ignore or put to one side and hope it just goes away or doesn't affect our happy little juggernaut as we go about our days.

But our merry meander shall be interrupted I'm afraid, in some way and in some form eventually. Remember that fad called the internet… can't see that catching on…

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Yep, the internet has indeed been the biggest invention of all time. Several developments had to lead us there for sure, but in terms of impact on society, then ye ol' world wide web is the biggie.

We've had a quiet spell more recently (it tends to go in 20 year cycles), with the exception of the Smartphone (which was really combining 3 existing technologies - mobile phone, internet and personal computing) then not that much has happened since the turn of the century (you could say streaming and the continuation of digitisation but that's more progression rather than disruptive).

However, if you look back at 1980 to 2000 you see a different picture. It all kicked off. Computers , internet, mobile phones and far more became mainstream and it was a pivotal couple of decades.

And when we look back from 2040 then we'll see a whole new world appear, one that is vastly different to what we have now. Unrecognisable.

Now, that could be good or bad (or indifferent as most things are, just depends how they're used) but it's happening. We do need to ensure that the power lies mostly with the individual rather than big tech companies, governments, banks and other undesirables… but that's another matter for another day.

The next stage of evolution is Blockchain, which could potentially supersede the internet by orders of magnitude in terms of what it can do and how it alters society. Although the internet was needed for that tech to operate, this will put all that activity and our part in it on steroids.

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One example that Blockchain can be used for is Crypto. No, this isn't a crypto article and do your due diligence. But get out of the mindset that crypto is just about the money and more how it functions and what that means for exchanging value as we go forward.

I'm sure we'll cover this topic a bit more in the future but just have it in the back of your mind, keep your beady eye out, and don't worry about all the nonsense spouted in the media (that goes for all things, btw).

There are of course multiple uses for Blockchain, this just being one - huge - example.

GPT Enters the Chat

Another big technology development that has exploded over recent months is ChatGPT and its ilk. Yes, AI has been around a while but very basic with chatbots etc. ChatGPT took things to a whole other level, and it's frightening.

This bugger can churn out hundreds of words in seconds from a single prompt. Then it can remember earlier points in the conversation and apply it, ie. learning as it goes, making it a 'dangerous' animal.

Not great for writers for example. Or ones operating at a fairly low level anyway, as they are obsolete straight away. Why pay anything and wait for someone to get back to you when you can do it for free in a matter of seconds?

The argument always was that AI could only do the basic stuff and couldn't be creative (including me! See the last section of the About Page on my FortressFree.com site, written several years ago)… that's now changing rapidly. It can access a lot of information and take on the persona of anything it wants and does a fairly good job.

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I've played around with it myself (after ignoring it for a while) and it is definitely impressive. It can also put you into a negative mind frame as it does feel that the robots will indeed take our jobs. The trick is not to panic and also see how you can join the fun. What can you do to utilise it and make yourself indispensable whilst supercharging your efforts?

And therein lies the key: using it to enhance us and our output as humans, making everything we do that much better and more efficient. Taking us to places we couldn't have gone before. And isn't that what all technology is? Making things faster, easier, cheaper, more efficient, more fun… and better!

This can obviously be debated till the cows come home about what is better or worse, but in terms of evolution of the species then these are improvements and leaps forward. It is up to us to make sure they work for us rather that against us.

Jobs will be lost, jobs will be gained. Mostly lost though for now. There will need to be humans doing all kinds of things, but a whole lot less I would surmise, and if this thing all takes off the pace will quicken.

Those who position themselves correctly though, could be quids in in all senses. There's a place for the more astute, the person who makes the effort to learn and find their place within the emerging system. Great people are exactly that and can adapt to change. The others will be relying on 'The State' and that won't end well.

It might get a bit grizzly out there, and may get worse before it gets better for many, but I'm optimistic we can emerge triumphant.

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None of this is new (in some ways). For some time now you've had Google et al at your fingertips. So essentially the whole world of information seconds away. You used to have to go to the library, or actually have conversations with people to find out stuff. For the past 20 years you can just tap a few keys on your computer at home in your pants and get everything you want (along with a whole lot you don't).

Writers have been copy/pasting existing articles and switching it around for a unique article. I'm not even talking plagiarism but using it for inspiration as well as a bit of a re-write from various sources. That would have all had to have come from your head before (or off down the library, but put some trousers on first… plus you can't go ripping pages out the books).

Wikipedia has a page on every public figure, place and more out there. You can find everything you want on Rome For example, but travel bloggers co-exist and some do quite well and many have written on Rome! Why? Well, it isn't just the basic info people were after… it was a personal perspective.

And what does that require? A person! You, me, Travelling Twit, whoever. And that goes for all sectors, not just travel. A person who has had the physical experience of going to a place or doing a particular thing, how that applies, contrasts and connects with everything else in their lives, and what that may mean to their circle of influence.

Ain't no AI that's been to the Sistine Chapel, as well as Bondi Beach who comes from Shropshire, with a mate called Tarquin whose parents own a shack in Goa (and used to busk outside Boots with a dog named Clive).

Google was (is) about being a good sifter. Yes, you have all the info at your fingertips, but much of it crap or contradictory or questionable or irrelevant. Therefore, you have to wade through the mud and pick out the good bits and act from there.

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ChatGPT is about being a good prompter. Ask the right questions, give the right commands, and follow up well to refine. There are now actual businesses operating solely on the service of selling prompts. That's how powerful the 'simple' wording is when interacting. Garbage in garbage out… and whatever the opposite of that is. Feed it well, and it spits out extraordinary things.

Then again, that's nothing new either. Say the right things to Google, and to a wider extent to other people out in the world… isn't that what psychology, influence and communication are anyway? We're now dealing with hybrid type 'beings' but all the same rules apply. Although we can dispense with the niceties and get straight down to business ;).

So a writer (and anyone else for that matter) may have to add more strings to their bow, as well as up their game. Think about how they can use AI but still be a crucial component to any situation. Adapt.

If you were previously just writing words, you may now want to me more involved in helping businesses with marketing, making suggestions, giving ideas. Perhaps incorporate other media – audio or video could complement it well and add another angle (AI tools aplenty there too!).

Of course, now people are needed who can understand and use all this AI stuff. That would be you and I, as most won't be willing and somebody somewhere has to… and that can be marketable in itself.

As well as prompting being a top skill as mentioned earlier, now roles like 'AI content specialist' will be springing up. You can't just put in any old command and copy & paste this stuff.

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Firstly ChatGPT and friends aren't actually that good (yet). Next, it needs to be tweaked to give a bit more personality and in a brand or individual's voice. Then it needs to bypass Google's sophisticated AI detectors! Yep, the search engines are not a fan of AI generated content and will not rank it well… as AI tools improve, so do the AI detection tools.

As you might expect, Google are on the ball with this, and it may well take longer to game the system then it would have done to write the damn thing yourself. Once using ChatGPT, you then need to use other tools to refine it, check it and edit it and make it 'clean'.

It also currently only draws on information up to 2021, so if you think things change fast then a lot simply isn't up to date so needs to be verified and accounted for.

Perhaps not quite the panacea some would make out.

And as ever, real world experiences and views will always trump anything a bot can do. People love a little physical letter in the post, in-person meetups and the general human connection. This is partly because of things going in the other direction that it adds that value and people will always be searching for that personal insight and kinship on some level.

Don't fret, move with the times, and learn what you can. Enhance, celebrate and embrace what makes you different, not just from AI but from other humans, and you'll do alright.

Remember, you won't lose your job to AI per se, but you may well lose it to those using AI. Keep ahead of the game, and enjoy the ride!