Can an AI model write like a human? We asked ChatGPT.

Programs like ChatGPT and Playground, both operated by OpenAI, are quickly gaining popularity. Using AI programs to write content is an enticing option. In theory, it seems less expensive, more efficient, and an easy way to generate large amounts of content – but do these programs live up to human expectations of what content should look and sound like?

What is it, and how does it work?

Content generating software uses a type of machine learning called natural language processing (NLP). OpenAI trains its interfaces on 175 billion parameters, including books, newspapers, articles, and a snapshot of the internet in 2021. This was done through “unsupervised learning”, meaning none of the information was labelled. Instead, OpenAI predicts what words, in which order, will create the best response through analyzing the context and relationships between words and information in the training material.

Interview with an AI program

I decided to ask an AI program itself for its own take on automatically generated content. For this test I used ChatGPT, currently the most talked-about AI chatbot. The program is free but requires users to create an account before use. It feels a bit ironic when I’m asked to confirm I’m not a robot.

spark*: Hi, ChatGPT! In your opinion, should I hire a human or an AI program to write content like blogs and social media posts?

ChatGPT: It depends on your specific needs and goals for the content. A human writer may be able to bring a unique perspective and creativity to the content, while an AI can generate a large amount of content quickly and at a lower cost. It's also worth considering that AI language models like me are getting better at writing content with each passing day, so the quality of AI-generated content is also improving.

If you value authenticity, personality, and creativity in your content, hiring a human writer may be the best choice. On the other hand, if you need to scale up your content production or want to keep costs low, AI-generated content can be a valuable option. It's best to evaluate your specific needs and goals to determine which option is the best for you.

spark*: Are there any disadvantages of using an AI to write content?

ChatGPT: There are a few potential disadvantages to using an AI to write content:

1. Quality: While AI models can generate coherent text, they may not always produce content that is as high quality as content written by a human. This is because AI models do not have the same level of understanding and context about the topic as a human writer.

2. Creativity: AI models may struggle to produce creative or innovative content, as they rely on patterns and structure that they have learned from existing data.

3. Tone and style: AI models may have difficulty capturing the tone and style of a specific brand or publication. It may be difficult to teach an AI model to write in a particular voice or style.

4. Contextual understanding: AI models may not have the same level of understanding of the context and implications of the content they are generating. This could lead to errors or mistakes in the content.

spark*: Can you give me an example of a tweet about Justin Trudeau's new healthcare funding announcement for provinces?

ChatGPT: Sure, here's an example:

"Exciting news from Prime Minister Trudeau! The new healthcare funding announcement will provide much-needed support to provinces and improve the lives of Canadians #healthcare #Trudeau #Canada"

spark*: How much money is Trudeau offering provinces in the new 2023 healthcare funding deal?

ChatGPT: I'm sorry, I do not have the exact amount of money that Prime Minister Trudeau is offering provinces in his 2023 healthcare funding deal. The details of the deal may have been publicly announced by the Canadian government or reported by Canadian news outlets, but I do not have access to that information as my training data only goes up until 2021.

So, there you have it. While AI content generators are impressive and still in their early stages, there are some setbacks to consider such as creativity, authenticity, contextual understanding and more.

Not to mention, writing a specific query that includes all relevant information and details could take as long as writing the content itself. It’s also likely to produce less accurate results than a human writer with a deeper contextual understanding could. As you can tell from our conversation, creating timely content is difficult for ChatGPT, considering it doesn’t have access to any information past the year 2021.

Publishing misinformation is another risk. Creating AI-generated content without finely tuned quality control done by humans could result in promoting untrue or misleading information. AI models aren’t immune to bias either. They can sometimes reflect the biases present in the language of the data they are trained on.

Parting thoughts

Navigating AI software to generate content can be tricky for first time users. Understanding the new programs along with their advantages and risks will help you make an informed decision on whether or not to use them for content generation.

Here at spark*, we’re experimenting with all the latest ways to write engaging content. If you’re looking to test the waters of AI content generation, we can help you navigate with the help of a human brain (that knows exactly how much the provinces were allocated in the new healthcare deal). Whether you need a hand in spicing up social media, reviving website copy, or amping up a newsletter, you can reach out to us anytime at hello@sparkadvocacy.ca.