My (Not-So-Humble) Opinion on ChatGPT

Photo by Hitesh Choudhary on Unsplash

I’ve been doing a lot of in-person networking these days.

Yeah, remember when we did that? Put on pants and ventured outside our cocoons, and saw people in 3D?

The pandemic may have taught me to embrace my hidden introvert, but the extroverted side of me is BACK, and I’m attending everything short of the opening of an envelope.

And true to form, in my eternal role as the World’s Most Approachable Woman, people are asking me questions, most notably:

As a writer, what do you think about ChatGPT?

So, without further ado, here are my thoughts:

Full disclosure: I would be a big fat liar if I told you I haven’t used ChatGPT or AI tools in general. For instance, it is no state secret that I’m a big fan of Grammarly, the AI Writing Assistance bot.

Can you feel the “but” coming?

Here it is: BUT…

I use Grammarly as a tool, not as a replacement for employing the functions of good writing. In the same way I would expect a hammer to build me a house, I don’t think Grammarly will solve all my writing issues.

I feel the same way about ChatGPT. It’s a tool, not a substitute.

For me, ChatGPT is a great starting point for inspiration: developing an outline or organizing thoughts on a topic (whether or not that topic is new to me).

ChatGPT can also help when you find yourself in the weeds of techno-jargon, which is exactly where I found myself a few weeks ago with an insurance client.

We were breaking down the concept of how insurance premiums are calculated, but we were talking industry talk, not human talk. So we turned to ChatGPT to break down the calculation into plainer terms.

Then (and this is important, so pay attention!): we wove the concept into the newsletter in the client’s voice.

No “copy and paste, and we’re done” approach over here in Judi 411 Land.

Which leads me to my other rant, I mean, thought about ChatGPT:

Your readers want to hear from YOU, not a BOT.

Yes, it is possible to train ChatGPT to write in your voice, but the time you’re using to train is the time you could use to write it yourself.

It’s not a shortcut; it’s a way to shortchange your readers.

Finally, there’s also this pesky little matter that I sum up as follows:

The Internet is not vetted.

I’ve actually been saying this for years in relation to Google searches. Just because Google showed it to you doesn’t mean it’s accurate.

You need to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Case in point: a massage therapist in my network used ChatGPT to create some talking points on the fascia, the connective tissue of the human body.

What did ChatGPT spit out? A lot of inaccuracies and misconceptions, AKA: Pure Garbage.

Now, of course, a massage therapist can identify B.S. But a non-expert cannot.

When it comes to creating content for my clients, I prefer to lean on the voice of the real-life expert.

In other words, my clients are my ChatGPT.

In our brain-download sessions, we dive into a topic they want to discuss with their audience. I ask the questions, and they give me the answers.

Then, I turn their words into blogs and newsletters that educate their clients.

Their thoughts. Their words. Channeled through me, their writer.

At the end of the day, your readers want to hear from you, not a bot.

There are, of course, loads of other things to say about ChatGPT and AI in general, but that’s the highlight reel here.

So I’ll leave you with the invitation to email me (judi@judi411.com) and ask me more questions.

I bet I’m better than a bot.