Is AI really going to change our world?

A few weeks ago, I decided to do some preparation for our annual FIPP World Media Congress, which takes place in Portugal in June, by writing my opening remarks. Normally, I would stand up and say a few words about the state of the industry and FIPP’s achievements over the past year.

Given all of the noise and attention around the raft of new AI writing tools that have seemingly emerged from nowhere all at once, I thought I would put ChatGPT to the test, and give it the task of writing my speech for me.

Having prompted it, there followed a short period of deep thought, then a sudden rapid regurgitation of text. The speech, amounting to some 350 words was, at first glance quite well-written, containing phrases like “change is the only constant”, “we believe in the power of publishing” and “let us seize this opportunity to be bold”. I sat back thinking “task completed” and felt quite proud of myself.

But then I started to re-read what the computer had written, and doubt crept into my mind. Were there too many clichés? Could these words actually apply to any event, not just a publishing conference? And, most of all, did it really sound like me? In the end, I’ve decided not to use it, realising that the text was somehow less than the sum of its parts. With a clean piece of paper, I’ve written it again, only this time it sounds more like me.

Amidst all the hype about AI-driven journalism, and the idea that it is going to come and steal our jobs, perhaps here is a dose of realism. AI is undoubtedly a very clever tool and, for many routine jobs, even routine journalism, it will perhaps prove to be a significant time-saver. But we must never delude ourselves into thinking that it is human, or that it is able to think and produce like a human.

It is only ever the sum of its parts, in this case whatever limited information about FIPP, our industry and the event that it was able to scrape from the internet. (Incidentally, much of its learning is enabled by content that we ourselves have produced, without any compensation to us for taking these fruits of our labours to build a new product, but that’s another story…) 

Only humans are able to provide that intuitive leap of the imagination, to forge the seemingly invisible connection or to come up with a wonderful, original turn of phrase that lingers in the mind. We must remain confident in our ability to out-smart the computers and, as in my case, pick up our metaphorical paper and pen and get back to the business of doing the thing only we can do – making compelling content.

James Hewes – President & CEO, FIPP, will be speaking at the Indian Magazine Congress. IMC is all set for a comeback as the flagship event of the Association of Indian Magazines. It is slated to be organised on March 24th, at the Oberoi, New Delhi.

The conference agenda is live at https://aim.org.in/imc12/