Will I be replaced by Artificial Intelligence?

 

Our family has recently been discussing the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence or AI. Several of our family members are university professors and/or are involved in writing professionally and are keenly aware that their students may be using AI to write homework and take-home tests. I decided to see how AI would write a fairly simple blog post about genealogy. I used the chat.openAI.com website to generate a sample blog post using this phrase as the starting point: "Explain the basics of genealogical research in the United States."

Here is what was produced by the program. 

Genealogical research is the process of tracing the history of a family and its ancestors. In the United States, genealogical research can be a rewarding and challenging hobby. Here are some basic steps to get started:

1. Gather as much information as you can about your family, including names, dates of birth, marriage, and death, and places of residence. This information can come from family records, documents, photos, and stories passed down through the generations.
2. Use online resources such as census records, military records, and immigration records to verify and expand upon the information you have gathered. The United States Census Bureau, National Archives, and Library of Congress all have extensive collections of historical records that can be accessed online.
3. Visit local libraries and archives to access additional resources, such as local newspapers, deeds, wills, and probate records. Many libraries and archives also have staff members who can assist with genealogical research.
4. Join a genealogical society or attend genealogy conferences to connect with other researchers and learn about new resources and techniques.
5. Consider hiring a professional genealogist if you are having difficulty finding certain records or if you want more in-depth research assistance.

It's important to keep in mind that genealogical research can be time-consuming and may require some patience. It's also important to be mindful of the privacy of living individuals and to follow good research practices to ensure the accuracy of your findings.

Well, since this only took me about a minute to have the AI program do its work, it would certainly increase my output to several articles a day. However, when I write I include links to sources, etc. but I could use this short piece as an outline to expand on and come up with a more detailed blog post. Are there any moral or ethical reasons why I shouldn't use this AI product? That is a major area of discussion in the media right now. Of course, I am far from the first person to think about using Ai or writing about the product. See  Mayfield, StoryChief-Content Marketing Blog- Dayana. n.d. “We Put Writing AI to the Test for a Blog Post.” StoryChief - Content Marketing Blog. Accessed December 28, 2022. https://storychief.io/blog/writing-ai.

I also write in the first person and usually express opinions (always). Let's try this again. Here is the title from one of my recent blog posts: "Comments on the limitations of online genealogical research." You might like to compare what I wrote in that article with what the AI program wrote from the same title. Here is the AI version:

Online genealogical research can be a useful tool for discovering information about your family history, but it also has its limitations. Some of the limitations of online genealogical research include:

1. Limited availability of records: While many records are now available online, many others are not yet digitized or are only available in physical form. This can make it difficult to access certain records, especially if they are not held at a local library or archive,
2. Inaccurate or incomplete information: Some online records may contain errors or omissions, especially if they have been transcribed or translated from original documents. It's important to verify information from multiple sources and to use caution when relying on online records.
3. Limited context: Online records often lack the context and background information that can be found in original documents. This can make it difficult to fully understand the context of the information you are researching.
4. Privacy concerns: Some online genealogy websites may require users to enter personal information in order to access certain records. It's important to be mindful of privacy concerns and to carefully consider the information you are sharing online.

Overall, it's important to use online genealogical research as just one part of a larger research strategy, and to supplement it with other sources of information, such as physical records and in-person research.

Again, the ideas expressed by the AI writing are good ideas, but they are essentially copied from a variety of sources, but what I had to say in the original article shares little with the AI produced writing. However, the last numbered statement about privacy is not quite accurate. Yes, we do need to be aware of privacy concerns but I am not aware of any genealogy websites that require a user to enter personal information in order to access records. Dead people don't have privacy.

AI has certainly come a long way from the days of the early program called ELIZA from MIT and written by Weizenbaum. See Thorn, James. 2020. “The History of Artificial Intelligence: The Turing Test.” Medium. May 14, 2020. https://towardsdatascience.com/the-history-of-artificial-intelligence-the-turing-test-c1d6777d2970.

I may have some use for this AI text but right now, I am not going to stop writing. By the way, if you are worried, I will clearly identify any AI text I use in my blog.