Ever tried speaking with computer software that sounded just like a natural person? It’s pretty amazing especially now that we have the popular AI technology called ChatGPT that is capable of generating human-like text in response to our prompts or questions.
I’ve been using ChatGPT the week after it was launched. I’ve been asking different kinds of questions and also having fun seeing what it would come up with. But, I had an experience that made me realize the dangers of this AI technology.
Here are the 9 biggest dangers of ChatGPT that we should be mindful of:
1. ChatGPT may Generate Responses that are Not Accurate
Have you ever tried using ChatGPT to answer your question but the answer came out to be wrong or weird? Well, it’s not new because a lot of users already experienced this situation.
It can be frustrating that’s why I’ve come to realize that this can be one of the dangers of ChatGPT since it could generate answers that are not accurate.
For instance, I was requested to prepare a friend’s favorite meal. So, what I did was to ask ChatGPT for the recipes because I have no idea about this meal. I followed the instruction but the sad thing is, it didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to be and I was disappointed.
Then I realized that ChatGPT may not always understand the context or nuances of our questions or prompts. It may generate responses that are based on incorrect information.
This is a serious issue because some people are asking important topics like health or education. If someone will rely on this AI technology for medical advice or homework, they could end up getting the wrong information or suffer from negative consequences.
The company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, is transparent about the limitations of its AI technology and the potential risks associated with it. They encourage their users to always be cautious and aware of the inaccuracies.
2. People may become overly Reliant and Addicted to ChatGPT
It is true that one of the dangers of ChatGPT is that people may become overly reliant and addicted to this AI technology because it’s really easy to just ask a question and they quickly provide an answer.
However, this problem is not a new phenomenon because people in the past were also overly reliant on search engines like Google.
When I was younger, I recall frequently using Google to look for solutions to our school projects with my classmates. We just copy and paste the answer from a webpage without really understanding what we are reading.
ChatGPT is so cool and helpful but the more we use this AI technology, the less we use our brains to solve problems and think for ourselves. Instead of learning how to solve it with our brains, it’s like we are relying on a calculator to do all the math.
This AI technology is also addicting because it feels good to have instant answers and solutions to our questions. The feeling of satisfaction is there because we don’t need to spend lots of time figuring it out.
I’m afraid that people may start to feel like they couldn’t function without ChatGPT. This kind of mindset is very dangerous.
3. ChatGPT can be Susceptible to Bias
Let’s say you’re a big fan of basketball and you asked ChatGPT a question like “Who is the greatest basketball player of all time?” Now, you must be aware that ChatGPT doesn’t have its own opinions or knowledge.
It just gathers data and learns from a vast amount of text that was written by people. It’s like a sponge that tries to soak up information from books, articles, websites, and many other written sources.
And guess what? Sometimes those texts can have biases or opinions of their own. Then ChatGPT will just pick up those biases and incorporate them into its responses. The way it works is like a sneaky little gremlin that whispers biased information into the electronic brain of ChatGPT.
There was a time that I asked ChatGPT to provide me with a list of famous scientists. The response of ChatGPT was a bunch of male scientists but there were hardly any female scientists!
I was shocked because that didn’t seem to be right to me. After all, I’m a big fan of them and I know that there are amazing women scientists out there too.
The tricky part about this AI technology is that sometimes its responses can be subtle which means we might not even notice them right away. But, those can shape our thinking and reinforce stereotypes without even realizing it. I believe that it’s not cool!
4. It can Generate Harmful or Offensive text to Humans
So, here’s the deal about ChatGPT that I want you to know. I know that ChatGPT is very smart and it has the power to generate text easily. But, sometimes, it can go a little haywire because it can produce stuff that’ harmful or offensive to humans.
There was a time when I friend of mine tried ChatGPT to ask for some advice. He was expecting helpful words of wisdom but it spat out something rude or hurtful! He felt like he got smacked with a verbal snowball right in his face.
As you can see, ChatGPT learns from the texts it’s trained on. Sometimes, the text that this AI technology has gathered can contain inappropriate language.
From what I see, this AI technology is like a mischievous robot that doesn’t always know what’s right or wrong as long as he can respond to your question. This is dangerous because harmful words can have a real impact on our life.
Don’t worry, though, my beloved pals! There’s a way to tackle this problem because we can teach ChatGPT about the importance of kindness and respect by providing feedback or reporting any offensive text. Then the company would make improvements and squash those harmful words like pesky bugs!
5. ChatGPT has the Potential to challenge Traditional Models of Education
People won’t realize this yet but ChatGPT has the potential to challenge traditional models of education and this can be dangerous.
So, I want you to picture this out, let’s say a student is sitting in his classroom. He’s doodling away and daydreaming about life outside their school.
Suddenly, their teacher introduces ChatGPT as their new study buddy. This means that they will have a super-smart robot pal to help them with their homework. That’s cool, right?
But here’s the twist, we know that ChatGPT can provide answers to our questions quickly. It’s more faster than the lightning and we’re like having a turbo-charged homework machine at our fingertips.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that having access to loads of information is fantastic! But, the tricky part about this is that relying too much on ChatGPT can make us lazy learners. We might forget the joy of discovering things on our own. We don’t want to use our creative brains anymore to solve problems.
Think about it this way, imagine you’re doing treasure hunting inside a cave and instead of using your wits and exploring the map, you have a super-smart GPS that tells you exactly where the treasure is hidden.
That’s not fun anymore because it takes away the thrill of the adventure and the joy of figuring things out for yourself. Traditional education is about developing our critical thinking skills and nurturing our creativity.
It also teaches us how to find answers using our mental ability. If we become too dependent on ChatGPT, we might miss out on that valuable learning experience.
6. It can Generate convincing Phishing Emails
Let’s say you’re sitting at your computer right now eating your favorite snack then suddenly, you received an email that looks legit. It has logos, there’s an official-sounding language, and even your name is right at the top. But here’s the catch, it’s not from who you think it is.
ChatGPT is dangerous because it has this incredible ability to mimic the way humans write and it can make those phishing emails look so convincing.
Even before ChatGPT was developed, people already fell for these tricks by clicking suspicious links and sharing their sensitive information. There was also a time that I almost fell into this tricky trap.
I received an email claiming that I won a fabulous prize then they are asking for my bank details. My gut is telling me that there was something fishy that’s why I decided to be a savvy detective and investigate further.
I was correct because it turned out to be a cunning phishing attempt! If I hadn’t been on high alert, I might’ve fallen for it like a hapless victim in a mystery novel.
The deal with ChatGPT is it can learn from all sorts of text including fraud ones. It can also pick up the tricks and techniques of those cyber-criminals.
People who use the internet most of the time must arm themselves with knowledge so that they won’t be a victim of these phishing scams.
7. ChatGPT can violate Copyright or Trademark Laws
The danger of ChatGPT is it can be a bit of a copycat! There’s a huge possibility that it will generate a text that belongs to someone else. Again, this AI technology is just gathering and analyzing data from a bunch of texts.
Sometimes, it can accidentally reproduce something that’s protected by copyright or trademark laws. From what I’ve observed, ChatGPT is like a pretentious artist who borrows other people’s artwork without asking permission.
People nowadays are so reliant on technology that they don’t want to use their creative thinking. They want ready-made text without using their imagination to create something unique.
Even if ChatGPT has violated a Copyright text, people won’t care about it as long as they will have the answer to their question or prompt. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT is well aware of the importance of respective copyright laws. They are also taking measures to address this concern.
While the company strives to minimize the risk of generating content that infringes copyrights, there are still instances where the generated text can unintentionally resemble or overlap with existing copyrighted material.
8. It could Lead to Job Displacement in some Industries
I know that you’ve heard many times that the development of AI technology can lead to job displacement in some industries. That is true and the first wave of AI especially now that there’s ChatGPT can affect millions of jobs.
This is dangerous because if people will have no jobs, where will they get money to buy food? The world was considerably different in the past. They were brave and hardworking people who had jobs that requires a lot of brainpower.
Now that ChatGPT was developed, it’s so good at its job to the point that it can master the trade, solve problems, and create art like a human would do.
Let’s say for example there’s a librarian who knew every book in the library. This librarian guided readers to their favorite stories and she can also suggest what book is best for your subject.
But as ChatGPT grew smarter, people started asking it for book recommendations instead of the librarian. The sad thing about this librarian is that it felt like her wisdom was overshadowed by this AI technology. There’s a chance that her job will be replaced by AI.
I’m not telling that ChatGPT is a villain. It’s just that it’s so powerful that it can perform certain tasks with lightning speed and accuracy. People need to focus on tasks that require human skills that even the smartest AI might struggle with.
9. ChatGPT’s text can contain Racist or Sexist Language
It is important to address this danger seriously and understand the implication it holds because there have already been reports where ChatGPT has produced a text that includes racist or sexist.
Such occurrences must underline the importance of being cautious and critical when we are using these AI technologies. This AI technology is not immune to reproducing the biases that are prevalent in our society.
I’ve used ChatGPT many times and I’ve come to realize that this technology is like any tool created by humans. It can reflect different languages and prejudices that exist in our world. This AI technology just learns from the text that it has encountered.
I’m also expecting that there will be rare instances where it can produce responses that perpetuate racism or sexism. If this will happen, user feedback plays a vital role in identifying and rectifying instances when ChatGPT generates these kinds of problematic content.
OpenAI has also made it clear that some risks are currently unmitigated. This indicates that some risks still exist and have not been adequately addressed or eliminated. There are still areas where the risks remain significant or difficult to eliminate.
Final Thoughts
As you have learned the dangers of ChatGPT, you must now be mindful of this AI technology every time you use it. This is a strong instrument that has the ability to both astound and perplex us. But it has its own share of threats, just like every big power.
When we are facing the danger of this AI technology, we must always equip ourselves with skepticism because I know that humans are still smarter than this technology.
I believe that this AI technology will be like social media. I’m hoping that we will not be prisoners of our screens and pixels. The true essence of ChatGPT is not meant to rule over us like a master, but rather to serve as a loyal companion in our daily activities in life.
