Did you see that the article on the term “ChatGPT” on the German Wikipedia was accessed 3.9 million times last year?[1] Only articles on “Robert Oppenheimer”, “Germany” and “Nekrolog 2023” were clicked on more often.
So 3.9 million people in Germany are interested in a chatbot that “uses artificial intelligence to communicate with users via text-based messages and images“[2].
This means that there is generally a great deal of interest in this “new” form of smart data retrieval in society. After all, Wikipedia is regarded as the first port of call for further information on everything there is in the world when Google only provides headings instead of content as initial assistance. And the motivation to find out more about “artificial intelligence” is as diverse as the possible applications of the technology.
Why, Why, Why?
On the one hand, there is the simple curiosity of tech-savvy nerds who want to test ChatGPT’s ability to generate human-like text and hold complex conversations. Of course, the initial premise is that the nerds themselves should be able to have a more complex conversation that goes beyond exchanging xkcd comic strips or the best frozen Hawaiian pizza. One way to do this is to simply try out the program, but certainly researching the question “How does it work?” is also a useful way to understand a little more about the mechanics of the language model via Wikipedia.
Fraud or personal contribution?
Furthermore, ChatGPT is seen in educational and research institutions as a tool that can help simulate human-like interactions. Students, researchers and scientists are naturally interested in how ChatGPT can support their work, be it simulating conversations for studies or generating texts for scientific papers. Yes, ok, cheating. It’s called cheating when you let an AI work for you. Isn’t it? You can already read about this on Wikipedia, for example – “”If it’s just about reproducing knowledge and repackaging it in a nice new way, term papers no longer make sense.” ChatGPT makes writing such papers almost “unbearably easy.”[3] If only I’d had that back then, damn it.
Another area of motivation to learn more about ChatGPT lies in ethical considerations and responsibility in dealing with artificial intelligence. I, at least, was interested in the possible consequences of using ChatGPT. Especially the aspect of becoming a victim of so-called “framing” through the use of the language system. In Wikipedia, this point of criticism is also referred to as “false causality”[4] and is mentioned with other points in the subchapter on “Criticism and problems”. Former Minister of State Julian Nida-Rümelin has commented on this in more detail and also recognized and named the potential danger: “With ChatGPT, only one answer to the search term is provided. This answer stands alone – without alternatives, without relations, without classification. This gives even digital natives the impression that this is the only relevant result.”[5]
Art and profession as motivation
To be a little more positive, we must also mention those users who want to use the chat function on Wikipedia for creative reasons. Creative minds also see ChatGPT as an opportunity to create innovative and entertaining applications. Artists are known to be able to create added value out of anything and, accordingly, ChatGPT is at least one suitable platform for creating interactive stories. Unfortunately, this artistic-creative approach is not addressed at all in Wikipedia and therefore at least these visitors have to make their own experiences, which is actually inherent to most art forms anyway. DIY.
Finally, there are those Wikipedia users who are interested in ChatGPT for professional reasons. Many people are looking for basic information about ChatGPT to find out how it can be used in their professional environment. From simplifying programming to finding topics for workshops to automating text generation tasks, AI at least has the potential to improve numerous professional applications and make processes easier (yes, even cheating).
So just hire a robot in the company for the simple requirements! Simple areas of activity, repetitive tasks that are monotonous, perhaps even stressful for humans, routine tasks that don’t require much creativity or special expertise. AI can do all that! This has been on people’s minds for centuries, so why not finally make it a reality?
No fear of AI
And if you’re now afraid of losing your job because you could be replaced by an artificial intelligence, then you haven’t been paying much attention in economic history.
“In many previous phases of technological innovation, huge job losses were predicted, and by and large we have seen the opposite, driven by productivity gains, lower prices and also entirely new products and services.“[6]
So you can be sure that even with ChatGPT and the advance of AI on the job market, there will still be a vacancy for you somewhere. After all, most visitors in 2023 were interested in people who have died and the list of the dead on Wikipedia – and if push comes to shove, maybe that’s something for your professional future? People always die …
- [1] https://de.statista.com/infografik/31572/wikipedia-top-artikel-deutschland-2023
- [2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT (eingesehen am 22.01.2024)
- [3] Ibid.
- [4] https://epaper.nzz.ch/read/6/6/2023-09-30/52(viewed on 22.021.2024)
- [5] https://www.bidt.digital/welt-gastbeitrag-wie-ethisch-unproblematisch-ist-chatgpt/ ( viewed on 22.01.2024)
- [6] https://www.businessinsider.de/wirtschaft/international-business/warum-ihr-keine-angst-haben-solltet-dass-ki-euch-euren-job-wegnimmt/ (viewed on 22.01.2024)
