One afternoon as I sat exhausted from the day’s work, I wondered out loud, “What is the point of this life?” I decided I would ask ChatGPT. Its response took me by surprise.
My initial expectation was well-rounded insights on nihilism and existentialism. However, ChatGPT suggested mental health resources instead. Was this technology displaying empathy? Was it trying to perceive the state of mind of the user? Another ChatGPT user made observations of how the platform sounded irritated upon being asked redundant, repetitive questions. Was this ChatGPT displaying some form of human-like emotion?
ChatGPT is a highly advanced AI which uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to contextualize the semantics of written text. It is capable of isolating emotion and intent based on its assessment of various vectors. As technology becomes more intuitive and human-like, many fear the complete elimination of human beings from various spheres of the workforce. However, technology experts reiterate that technology, no matter how advanced, would only assume a parallel role in the workspace – processing and centralizing information, reducing time and error and optimizing workflows – only augmenting the efficiency of current organizational functions and facilitating data-driven decision making while continuing to heavily rely on human creativity and innovation for formulating solutions to problems that arise in unique, complex situations.
Perhaps the most important conundrum of our technology-driven era is not determining if technology is going to replace us. Rather it is about not losing sight of what makes our societies and organizations human at their core.