{"id":30440,"date":"2023-01-25T08:44:57","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T16:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=30440"},"modified":"2023-01-25T08:44:57","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T16:44:57","slug":"no-chatgpt-isnt-going-to-change-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/no-chatgpt-isnt-going-to-change-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"No, ChatGPT isn\u2019t going to change everything."},"content":{"rendered":"

On the morning of December 5th<\/sup>, 2022, I received a text from a friend of mine introducing me to ChatGPT. His wife was preparing a sermon that week. She asked for my help in collecting research material for her message. She promised me a $5 Starbucks gift card. I would have done it for free. I love sermon research! But in this text, he showed me what happened when he typed into ChatGPT \u201cCreate a sermon based on biblical joy targeted towards college students.\u201d Out popped the sermon. And just like that, I was out of a job. ChatGPT took away my $5 Starbucks gift card.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ChatGPT has taken the internet by storm. It is, as the iPhone in 2007, the technology paradigm-shifter the world was not expecting.[2]<\/a> This technology changes the landscape so much that we are just now getting glimpses into the potential benefits and issues. Students are already utilizing it to write papers.[3]<\/a> It has even passed the Wharton Business School research paper test.[4]<\/a> This changes everything.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But does it really<\/em> change everything<\/em>? To answer that question, I will bring in the late Dr. Edwin Friedman and his Failure of Nerve<\/em> concept of the fallacy of expertise to balance our perspective. But before this, I want to highlight a downside to ChatGPT that haunts me. I will then conclude with a final thought on what cannot be delegated to ChatGPT.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Concern with ChatGPT<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, I do not want to come across as an anti-technology, fearful of progress kind of person. I believe the implication for good this opens up is unfathomable. However, my early fear around this technology is a nagging thought. No, it is not AI becoming smarter than us and bringing down humanity. That\u2019s my second fear. My first concern is this: What are the implications of eliminating effort from humans? If you look at OpenAI\u2019s mission statement (OpenAI is the company behind ChatGPT), you will see \u201cOpenAI\u2019s mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI)\u2014by which we mean highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work\u2014benefits all of humanity.\u201d[5]<\/a> The delegation of \u201cmost economically valuable work\u201d to AI will result in the elimination of meaningful effort\/work. Though living a blissful, effort-free life sounds ideal in theory, humans were made to work. It is in our nature. It was a part of the beginning of creation before sin entered the picture (in which work became more of a curse and frustration rather than a joy). My hope is that ChatGPT is a tool to reduce frustrating, tedious work so that our God-given creativity and effort can be redirected to exploring other possibilities. My fear is that just as students miss out on the benefit of effort through ChatGPT essays, we will diminish the deeply human part of us that finds meaning through effort and work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What does this have to do with Friedman?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s return to the assertion that ChatGPT will change everything. This is, I believe, an example of what Friedman calls the fallacy of expertise<\/em>.[6]<\/a> In short, Friedman argues that our world simply assumes what is needed is \u201cmore information.\u201d This, according to Friedman, is the wrong foundation to place one\u2019s confidence. He writes, \u201cAs long as leaders base their confidence on how much data they have acquired, they are doomed to feeling inadequate.\u201d[7]<\/a> The counter assertion to \u201cChatGPT changes everything\u201d is Friedman\u2019s contention that the quick-fix solution of data collection is simply a mask for the chronic anxiety of society. What is required instead is a self-differentiated position of strength in the midst of a chronically anxious environment. In an information-saturated world, this position of strength is displayed through filtering data, discerning what information is actually matters, as opposed to unreflectively clutching novel information.[8]<\/a> This is not data-collection work, but emotional regulation work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ChatGPT and Character Formation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The point I want to make is this: one cannot delegate to ChatGPT the lifelong, effortful work of virtuous character formation. To my knowledge, this isn\u2019t what the tech blogs are advocating for. However, the truly important work of becoming people of virtue, seeking to create a better world for all, cannot be handed to AI. Yes, ChatGPT is making (and will continue to make) waves. But it doesn\u2019t change everything<\/em>. We still have the choice to become self-differentiated leaders who are not swayed by the daily tsunami of information. Becoming this self-differentiated leader comes through the effortful, character-formation work of personal emotional-reactivity management in the midst of emotionally-reactive, anxious systems.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> To be fair, in the end, she did use some of what I provided.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Erica Pandey Fried Dan Primack, Ina, \u201cHow ChatGPT Became the next Big Thing,\u201d Axios, January 24, 2023, https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/01\/24\/chatgpt-openai-iphone-boom.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> \u201cNew York City Schools Ban ChatGPT, Citing Negative Effect on Education – The Washington Post,\u201d accessed January 24, 2023, https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/education\/2023\/01\/05\/nyc-schools-ban-chatgpt\/.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Julia Mueller, \u201cChatGPT Passes Wharton Business School Test: Research Paper,\u201d Text, The Hill<\/em> (blog), January 23, 2023, https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/technology\/3825754-chatgpt-passes-wharton-business-school-test-research-paper\/.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> \u201cAbout OpenAI,\u201d OpenAI, December 11, 2015, https:\/\/openai.com\/about\/.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Edwin H. Friedman, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix (10th Anniversary, Revised Edition)<\/em> (Church Publishing, Inc., 2017) 103-126.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid. 104.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Ibid. 104-105.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Ibid. 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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