One of the few limitations of ChatGPT is its self-professed ‘limited knowledge of world and events after 2021’. Therefore I have chosen an example of its disruptive capacity from today’s news to show this newsletter has been written in-house rather than by the AI tool. Leading UK private school, Alleyn’s, has abandoned homework after teachers awarded top marks to essays produced by ChatGPT. Any student can now produce high-quality, erudite and original work instantly with the aid of the internet. Therefore, testing them in this environment no longer provides meaningful feedback on their abilities. 

Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said ChatGPT is a development ‘on par with the printing press, electricity, wheel and fire’. The tool promises to revolutionise the knowledge economy. As with any great innovation in this space, there is debate as to whether it will be a handy tool for professionals or threaten their jobs. I asked ChatGPT itself and rather ominously it identified the fields of ‘journalism, writing, and customer service’ as industries ripe for job losses at its hands. Buzzfeed’s stock surged 200% last week on reports that it would use ChatGPT to boost its editorial content. The company laid off 12% of its staff last month. 

Aside from the future of work, ChatGPT’s success will be felt in the battle of the tech giants today. Microsoft’s investment is said to be US$10bn and it could transform the way it competes with Google. There is already talk of incorporating its generative responses into its own search engine, Bing. The big prize will be the development of the next iteration of ChatGPT, likely to be a premium paid-for offering that could be essential for all white-collar workers.  

ChatGPT can tell you why it is so important in 20, 100, or 1,000 words. But if you want some more nuanced views on the technology, we also recommend these experts:

Nir Eyal
Best-selling author and expert in the fields of behavioural design and technology

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Ayesha Khanna
Author, entrepreneur, and expert in the fields of AI and digital transformation

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Daniela Rus
Director of Computer Science at MIT 

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Sebastian Thrun
Computer scientist and founder of Google X 

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Ramesh Srinivasan
Founder of the UC-wide Digital Cultures Lab

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Carl Benedikt Frey
Founder and director of the Future of Work programme at the Oxford Martin School

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Kenneth Cukier
Best-selling author and authority on emerging technology and digital disruption

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Gerd Leonhard
Author of ‘Technology vs. Humanity’

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