The Advantages and Pitfalls of Generative AI

By Jerome Thiebaud, Vice President of Marketing

The release of ChatGPT-4 has revived an ongoing conversation about the value of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its pitfalls. ChatGPT has already demonstrated how generative AI can complete incredibly complex tasks ranging from coding to taking the bar exam faster than any human being can. Indeed, we have blogged about generative AI’s value to the localization field. And this was all before the latest version of ChatGPT was released. The world is just now getting a taste of ChatGPT-4’s power, and as one technology pundit wrote, ChatGPT-4 “will blow ChatGPT out of the water.” At the same time, the technology is still emerging. Generative AI remains fraught with problems such as bias, accuracy, and transparency. We believe that businesses need to:

Embrace generative AI.
Understand its value.
Be aware of its limitations.
Be mindful about its use. Generative AI should help people do their jobs more effectively, not replace them.
Be transparent. Don’t commit the mistake CNET made by deceiving your audience into believing that human beings are creating content if in fact generative AI is doing the heavy lifting.

As a demonstration of just how powerful generative AI is, we asked ChatGPT-4 to help us write a 500-word blog post about the benefits of generative AI but also caveats. We also asked ChatGPT-4 to take note of a blog post co-authored by Centific’s Vincent Swan on the use of generative AI in localization.

ChatGPR-4 wrote the following in only a few seconds:

In recent years, there has been a significant shift towards the use of generative AI in various industries. With the launch of ChatGPT-4, the conversation about transformative technology has intensified. While this technology has tremendous potential, it is essential to approach it mindfully and be aware of the benefits and limitations of generative AI.

Blogger Vincent Swan has been vocal about the benefits of generative AI and localization. He believes that this technology can revolutionize the way businesses operate, leading to increased productivity and efficiency. For instance, generative AI can be used in customer service, where it can handle customer queries and complaints, freeing up employees' time to focus on more complex tasks. It can also be used in content creation, where it can generate articles and reports quickly and efficiently.

However, it is important to be mindful of the potential biases that can be embedded in generative AI. ChatGPT-4 is a language model trained on vast amounts of data, and this data can reflect existing biases and stereotypes. For instance, if the training data contains sexist or racist language, ChatGPT-4 might reproduce these biases in its output. It is, therefore, crucial to be aware of these biases and take steps to mitigate them.

Businesses that plan to use generative AI should be mindful of the impact it can have on their employees. While generative AI can improve productivity, it can also lead to job displacement. Companies should ensure that their employees are adequately trained to work with the technology and that they have opportunities for career growth and development.

At the heart of the conversation about generative AI should be people. Companies should prioritize their employees' needs and wellbeing and ensure that they are not exploited or marginalized. It is essential to take a human-centered approach to technology and use it to support people in their work, rather than replace them.

In conclusion, generative AI has tremendous potential, and ChatGPT-4 is an exciting development in this field. However, it is crucial to approach this technology mindfully and be aware of its benefits and limitations. Businesses should use generative AI to support their employees and improve productivity while being mindful of potential biases and job displacement. With a human-centered approach, generative AI can transform the way we work and live, leading to a more efficient and productive society.

The above useful. In fact, if we were under a tight deadline to write something about the launch of ChatGPT-4, we might use the above as a starting point. But we would also adapt the content to our liking by providing examples to add color. A common drawback of generative AI is how its answers, while cogent and quickly produced, are generic, per the above.

In addition, it would be imperative that we be transparent about how we used generative AI to create our content (as we are in this blog post). Finally, let’s remember that the idea for the blog post you are reading now came from a team of two human beings brainstorming on blog topics together. This post is an outcome of their collaboration, not ChatGPT-4. A human being needs to be at the center of the content creation.

How are you using generative AI?