AI Chatbots WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
AI chatbots, like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and CoPilot offer quick, detailed answers that seem to solve everything in seconds. What should I fix for dinner tonight if I want to lose 10 pounds? How do I have this difficult conversation with my boss? Can you help me theme and organize my child’s upcoming birthday party? Whatever question we have, AI chatbots seem to have the answer.
But look a little deeper. How do you know the response the chatbot came up with is correct? Or is it legal or ethical? AI chatbots work by constantly scanning every word – literally, every word, even the bad ones – on the Internet and then assembling that information into digestible answers that we like. It continues to learn by the types of things we ask, and how we follow up.
If you’re wishing there were rules to guide you to get started in AI, here’s where I would start:
1: Every piece of information you put into AI can theoretically be part of an answer for
someone else
Never include your name, names of your family members, your address, or any other personal identifying information
2: Never accept an AI answer at face value
Verify all pieces of information through separate channels. There could be things in the AI response that are just plain false. Lawyers have gotten in trouble for citing fake court cases, and newspapers have published reviews for books that don’t exist
3: AI has no problem with stealing things
Many artists and authors are suing AI companies because their original work is being used and copied by chatbots. If you don’t have the legal rights to put something into AI, don’t do it.
4: Never pass off an AI answer as your own
Most people just know when they’re reading something from AI. AI is disingenuous, overly superfluous and almost always follows a formula. There’s a term for that called “AI slop,” meaning a very generic answer that has no depth or personality and doesn’t sound at all like it came from a human. Always check with your employer or teacher if AI is acceptable to use in a professional setting. And if you are using AI to generate content, you should disclose it.
5: AI has problems with diversity and ethics
Not only does AI openly steal things, it can also answer back with points of view that are lacking in diversity. Without real-world experience and context, AI creates an echo chamber of a single viewpoint, which could make social inequalities even worse.
AI can be a great tool for inspiration. Want to landscape your house to make it look more like Florida, but don’t’ know where to start? AI can give you ideas. However, the biggest misconception is that AI can do your work for you. That’s just not true. It’s very early in the development of AI and at this point, chatbots are unable
