In less than a month, it had more than a million users. By January, that number leapt to more than 100 million, making it the fastest-growing user application in such a short time frame.
What does it do? In the same way that Google can answer questions, ChatGPT can write music and computer programs, draw pictures, answer tests and write essays, among other things.
One thing I have noticed in the very little time I have used ChatGPT is the complex and creative way in which it can deliver content with very little information.
So, this begs the question — will this technology remove jobs? The answer is probably, but much in the same way as combine harvesters removed the need for cutting grain by hand, or ATMs did away with bank tellers or parking machines negated the use of parking attendants.
It won’t remove jobs altogether and that is what is key.
Technology has continued to change and improve people’s lives at lightning speed.
As a recruiter, I still like to write my own job adverts, but I may now use ChatGPT for support to do this. Why not, if it helps make my working life easier?
I do not see a real threat to jobs from AI — instead, people should embrace technology wherever it can enhance their lives.
The need for trained computer programmers, data scientists, software engineers and the whole IT ecosystem around AI is only going to grow.
So, it is more important for the younger generation to arm themselves with technology skills — and it looks like ChatGPT will enable them to do that.
We need to remember that every so often, a new type of AI tech will come into the spotlight, with some championing the opportunity that it brings and others raising concerns — particularly in the form of computers taking the jobs of humans.
The reality is that AI has been around since the 1950s and is here to stay.
Some of the earliest uses of the technology were in video games, where people were able to “play against the computer”.
In 1997, Garry Kasparov became the first grandmaster to be beaten by AI in the form of IBM’s chess-playing computer Deep Blue.
Although not very happy at the time, 25 years later, Kasparov has made peace with the loss and sees the positives in human-machine collaboration.
Millions around the world have made use of AI and not even realised it, such as when ATM machines began reading handwritten cheques in the 1980s, removing the need for people to visit a branch.
This is a good example of AI improving business efficiency and removing the need for humans in mundane tasks.
This technology is here to stay and will keep advancing.
There have already been concerns raised about students cheating with their homework, as well as from politicians and journalists who see the technology as a threat to the manipulation of facts.
But these concerns have been around ever since the internet became widely accessible and the world took up social media.
I do not see a real threat to jobs from AI — instead, people should embrace technology wherever it can enhance their lives
John Armstrong
As a tech headhunter for more than 20 years, I am confident that AI will not take my job away.
Having the right tools and algorithms in the software that I use daily will help me to carry out my tasks more efficiently.
I also do not miss using a fax machine or a Rolodex (if you can remember those), but there is no replacement for human intuition or real-life experience.
Ultimately, AI is an enabler, not a threat — and I am interested to see how this enhances our day-to-day lives and the jobs that we do in the coming months and years.
John Armstrong is founder and managing director of recruitment agency JCA Associates.
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany - At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people - Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed - Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest - He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
