If you think you’ve never used generative AI, think again!
ChatGPT is a great example because it’s probably the most commonly used generative AI tool. All of us (or at least most of us) have used it many times. It’s a natural language processing tool, and it’s not perfect. This means we often need to fact-check the information it gives us or double-check any calculations. But it’s still useful because it makes things easier for us. Whether we’re unsure where or how to start, or we just need another perspective, generative AI tools and applications like ChatGPT really come in handy.
What is Generative AI?
Generative AI is an artificial intelligence model that can produce original content. It can figure out patterns and features on its own and come up with similar (but still unique) content in the form of text, images, and even videos! It uses what we call probabilistic modeling to present its knowledge as probabilities that might not always be certain. Think of it as ChatGPT saying, ‘As a language model, I’m not sure, but this is what I think…’ – that’s probabilistic modeling! And the great thing about it is how it can even adapt to new data and information to become better over time.
Still, ChatGPT is not the only generative AI tool that’s widely used; there’s also DALL-E for image generation, Magenta for music and artwork, MuseNet for music composition, StyleGAN for HD images, and text-to-speech tools to produce audio.
Generative AI Pros and Cons
Despite its limitations, generative AI can be a powerful tool for people working in different fields, not just IT. However, its impact really just depends on how you use it. You can check out more about the pros and cons of generative AI below:
Pros of Generative AI
Here are some of the benefits of generative AI:
#1 Increased Productivity
The thing about generative AI tools and applications is that they can do more in less time. They automate repetitive tasks and generate large outputs, such as multiple versions of the same answer or various ideas for a specific prompt. Not to mention, AI chatbots like Bard and GPT can also give suggestions to improve your content besides just producing content.
#2 Creative Boost
Creative block is a common problem for writers, designers, and other creatives. It happens unexpectedly, potentially when there’s a serious deadline hanging around that you really can’t afford to miss. And somehow, it seems that there’s no way to escape it. But with generative AI, you can fuel your creative process with newfound energy. Even if the output from generative AI tools can’t be readily used, it can still help expedite your own thought process. So, if nothing else, you can use it to get ideas and establish a starting point.
#3 Personalization
Personalization is key to getting results, especially when it comes to businesses. If a marketing message is personalized to your target audience, it will definitely be better received by them. Similarly, better prompts get better outputs from generative AI tools and applications. You can make your prompts more specific to generate desired results. For example, ask chatbots to ‘pretend to be an expert in a certain field’ or ‘think like a specific persona (your buyer persona).’
Cons of Generative AI
Here are the potential drawbacks of using generative AI tools and applications:
#1 Data Privacy and Security
Sensitive data that can be used to identify individuals must be handled cautiously. One example of generative AI misuse is when Clearview AI used images from social media platforms to build a facial recognition database in 2019. Since generative AI uses data to generate new content, it can potentially risk personal or sensitive data by mass exposure. So, we need to develop appropriate transparency and accountability mechanisms to eliminate such problems.
#2 Ethical Concerns
AI can be biased or even racist, which raises ethical concerns and a need to establish thorough guidelines to ensure ethically compliant implementation of generative AI.
#3 Quality and Accuracy
AI-generated content is not always accurate, so we cannot 100% rely on it. So, we need to ensure continuous monitoring of these models besides supplementing their content with a human touch for reliability.
#4 Limited Innovation
Sure, AI can give us a creative boost, but AI cannot think. AI can’t really do things on its own. We need to provide a prompt, and AI only responds to it based on its training data and learned patterns. In fact, the quality of the output depends directly on the input prompt. AI systems also can’t understand complex contexts like sarcasm, metaphors, and cultural practices. This means that while it is indeed useful, generative AI is still limited in what it can do.
Generative AI in Education
While generative AI applies to all sorts of different fields, it has the potential to make an insane impact on education. One of the most prominent barriers to education is that different students learn differently, different teachers teach differently, and they’re not always able to understand each other. This means we need to find a way to accommodate unique learning behaviors. Differentiation and personalized learning are helpful in this sense, but we need a system that can truly adapt to suit each student’s individual academic needs.
At SimpliTaught, we use AI and machine learning to deliver advanced personalized learning experiences to college students. Our AI model hunts the web for learning materials relevant to students’ textbook concepts. At the same time, our ML model adapts to each student’s unique learning behaviors and personalizes content recommendations to help them study faster and smarter! Generative AI is changing the way we think about learning. Discover how online learning platforms like SimpliTaught can improve graduation rates and accelerate student success – contact us at info@SimpliTaught.com.
