Introduction
The number one thing I learned about creating a course about GenAI is that responsibility is hard to define! In this post, I’ll define GenAI or Generative Artificial Intelligence and responsibility and pose some questions to further a dialogue: What is GenAI responsibility?
GenAI Defined
GenAI is short for Generative AI. My colleague and I published a course on this topic that states:
Generative AI is a type of Artificial Intelligence software that allows users to enter “prompts” to generate new content. This type of AI can craft text, slides, images, videos, and software code, streamlining the creation process and saving time. In addition to being fast, their work can sometimes be as good or better than humans’ work. For example, some Generative AI chatbots that can generate text include ChatGPT, BARD, Bing Chat, Copilot, Meta AI, and Amazon Q. (Emory & Karel, 2024).
Responsibility Defined
Responsibility is a more complicated term to define, especially as it relates to AI. I’m not referring to what is known as “Responsible AI.”
Responsible AI is an approach to developing and deploying artificial intelligence (AI) from both an ethical and legal point of view. The goal of responsible AI is to employ AI in a safe, trustworthy and ethical fashion. Using AI responsibly should increase transparency and help reduce issues such as AI bias. (What Is Responsible AI? Guidance and Best Practices, n.d.).
I’m talking about our responsibility as users. Of course, the makers of AI tools have issued best practices, “responsibility” policies, and ethics statements. I’ve seen these lists and positions. However, I want a dialogue about “our” collective responsibility as free-thinking humans. You may feel my position here for those of you who have used AI tools to chat, create, and generate.
The Questions
When do we lose our ability to think as a human?
Since Chat GPT dropped on us, I’ve used the tool for countless tasks. Instead of making lists, talking to experts, reading books/posts/articles, or even googling, I go to Chat to prompt it into service. When I reach an impasse, my brain thinks, “How can I use AI?” It’s affected me. I’m not sure this is a bad thing, but I wonder if it will affect the essence of my human thinking.
When does the trained large language model become our first tool of ideation?
When the internet first arrived in our lives, we still used card catalogs, libraries, newspapers, and encyclopedias. Nowadays, I don’t know too many people who use those above to seek information. With AI today, I wonder when we will see a time when a creative thought, an idea, was original and disconnected from some trained large language model like Chat GPT. I’m optimistic here. No matter what the algorithms kick out, it will take us humans to interpret and generate something interesting or wildly unlike anything else someone’s ever seen.
Are we moving toward a world where AI shapes our thoughts?
Yes! AI is already shaping our thoughts. It’s been present since the first computer program was written. Generative AI, where a machine generates text or an image, already shapes our thoughts. This entire blog post would never exist without it!
Conclusion
GenAI, or Generative Artificial Intelligence, is a software that allows users to generate content using prompts. It can craft text, slides, images, videos, and software code, streamlining the creation process and saving time. Responsibility is a harder term to define, but it is related to responsible AI, which aims to use AI ethically and legally. The author, Chris Karel, questions how much AI will affect human thinking when it becomes our first tool of ideation and if we are moving towards a world where AI shapes our thoughts.
Emory, T., & Karel, C. (2024, January 24). Using Generative AI at Work (Online Course). Chantilly; Redgrave Education & Training Inc.
What is Responsible AI? Guidance and Best Practices. (n.d.). SearchEnterpriseAI. https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/responsible-AI
