ChatGPT and its Consequences

Written by Sandhya Maddali

ChatGPT, an AI software that can churn out fully written papers with an input of just a few words, has gained a significant amount of popularity since its launch in November of last year. The new software has taken the world by storm - but not without leaving a significant amount of controversy in its wake.

It raises many ethical questions about using AI for writing, and since its release there have been a multitude of ChatGPT-related issues at various universities. Both universities and students have been called out for abusing the software.

In the aftermath of the mass shooting at Michigan State University, Vanderbilt University was caught using ChatGPT to write a statement to their students. The message sent actually included an attribution to ChatGPT at the bottom, and students picked up on it almost immediately after the statement was sent out.

The use of ChatGPT in times like these absolves the universities of having to think about communications with their students. Students also felt the use of ChatGPT was insensitive to the situation. The school did issue another apology statement after being called out, but situations similar to this could easily arise in the future as ChatGPT increases in popularity.

Meanwhile, multiple schools have banned students from using the software, while other educators have embraced ChatGPT, including it in educational plans. New York City public schools banned ChatGPT from all student devices and networks. University of Iowa professors attempted to incorporate ChatGPT in assignments, noting that students would use it regardless.

Though adept for AI software, ChatGPT is hardly consistent. Many have put it to the task of taking exams, and it hasn’t always been able to pass. A new model released by OpenAI called GPT-4 aims to make improvements on the areas where ChatGPT falls short. GPT-4 evidently can accept more input and is able to understand prompts better than its predecessor.

This update comes soon after ChatGPT’s release, and it seems on track to develop further. This continuous development has actually caused Elon Musk and other big tech players to urge companies to stop updates for some time to curb the power of AI as it continues to develop.

As OpenAI and other AI softwares update and improve, it will be interesting to see how their capabilities expand. The way technology has grown - for better or for worse - is certainly intriguing, but only time will tell how this sort of technology will affect society in the long term.

In a future not so far away....

In a future not so far away....

In a future not so far away....

In a future not so far away....

In a future not so far away....

In a future not so far away....

In a future not so far away....

We may share a byline with ChatGPT

We may share a byline with ChatGPT

We may share a byline with ChatGPT

We may share a byline with ChatGPT

We may share a byline with ChatGPT

We may share a byline with ChatGPT

We may share a byline with ChatGPT

Written by Kassie Araque

Illustrated by Alex Roeder

Brewing within the walls of the University of Texas, in the early stages of infancy, is a newspaper guided by artificial intelligence.

The project started as curiosity from Associate Professor of Practice Robert Quigley, who teaches in the School of Journalism and Media. He said he wondered how the evolution of AI would change journalism. With this in mind, he approached Assistant Professor of Practice Christian McDonald with the idea to test the connection between AI and journalism in the form of a newspaper.

“I do feel like there’s a decent chance that AI will become a pretty integral part of everybody’s lives in various ways,” Quigley said.

The project started in January and is funded by the Dallas Morning News Innovation Endowment. Two AIs will be used in the project, both created by a company called OpenAI. The first is ChatGPT, a chatbot that boomed in popularity after its beta release in {} The AI has raised big questions in academia because it can write complete essays based on a simple prompt. The second, DALL-E, is an AI that creates realistic and artistic prompt-based images.

“Surely it can write all our headlines, but can it write the stories, can it do the captions for photos? Can Dall-E do the photo illustrations? Can it put together an email newsletter? Can it write Instagram posts, can it make breaking news alerts?” Quigley said, referencing the relationship between the paper and the AI.

The project employs two students, Gracie Warhurst, an undergraduate learning assistant for Quigley’s Digital Storytelling Basics class, and Sophia Kurz, a senior journalism and data science double major. Both students were compensated for their work in the project via the fund. The students document the work between them and the AI closely to exercise the limits of the technology. Kurz and Warhurst also work together on a literary magazine Warhurst founded, The ATX Review.

“It helps that they already have a working relationship. And if there’s just two of them on this project, they need to get along and understand each other,” Quigley said.

Quigley also said that the goal of the project is transparency. Each byline would contain the name of the reporter and the AI, and they aim to avoid any confusion over the origin of the articles.

Some journalists see AI as a potential threat to an already delicate industry. Last month, Buzzfeed began using AI to create content. As of now, the AI-written articles are mostly the outlet’s infamous quizzes, but job security is a popular topic of conversation right now.

Quigley said he sees AI more as a tool than a threat. There is a possibility that AI could take over some of the more mundane tasks in journalism, such as coming up with interview questions or headlines. This could offer reporters more time for investigative journalism and feature stories.

“I think there’s still a lot of value in humans doing journalism, everything from going out into the field to capture stuff, to writing with the unique, creative flair that only humans can do right now,” Quigley said.

The project is just getting started, Quigley said. The group is in the process of setting up a website and getting a domain, then they’re planning to collaborate on design choices with the AI. He said it could be anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months before the site’s debut.

“I think curiosity wise, it’s a good way to get some answers to the questions we have,” Quigley said.