How LLMs are Changing the Communication Game

Isn’t it scary how Large language models (LLMs), like ChatGPT , are having a huge impact on society and computing, similar to how search engines like Google transformed the internet. LLMs are all the rage right now!

They can do so much for us, like writing emails for social or business, compiling reports based on new or existing information, homework where you cite your resources (or not!), coding every facet of a website, and para-phrasing books, and even movie reviews! You name it, it’s now impossible to write at least 5 articles, schedule them for release once a day for a week.

Before LLMs, we would spend a long time trying to put our thoughts into words that made sense to others. With pen and paper, on empty used envelopes, on custom note pads , but more often with either two thumbs or plastic pens on our smartphones. It is a struggle for those with undecipherable hand-writing, but a great release for poets and lovers of literature.

But now, we can use LLMs to do it quickly, easily, and at a low cost. They are still your ideas, but the LLM is doing all the typing, the critical analysis, compilation, all whilst allowing you to review, refine and extract.

Even though we have these amazing language models at our disposal, it’s very important to remember that we are ultimately responsible for the content we send out into the world.

While the language model can generate text for us, it’s still our name and reputation on the line.

That’s why it’s vitally important to carefully review and comprehend what the language model produces. We need to ensure that the message aligns with our intentions, conveys the right tone, and accurately represents our thoughts. After all, even the most advanced language models can sometimes produce outputs that may not be entirely accurate, contextually inappropriate, or NOT aligned with our personal style.

For instance: When I write my articles with assistance from ChatGPT, I make sure to understand the output, make necessary revisions, add personal touches and verbal-wordage, or clarify any ambiguities. This helps to ensure the message reflects our own voice and values.

Because, in my humble opinion: Text is more than just words.

When someone else writes, they make choices about how to convey our ideas. They pick a path out of many possibilities. It’s poetic, lyrical, it has substance, decisions, conflict, resolution, and sometimes conclusion.

As Jesse said in a recent podcast with Roman Atwood “At the end of your life, all you have is stories.” So true.

But I believe a lot is lost when we delegate the writing our thoughts and ideas to online artificial intelligence.

So many people don’t realise that writing is not just about putting words on paper.

It’s about exploring different perspectives, thinking deeply, discussing with like-minded people online, and admitting when we don’t know enough and need to learn more. It involves reading, thinking through new ideas, deciding if you agree with the ideas of others and if they resonate with your own decisions and direction.

That’s why writing down our thoughts is so valuable. By keeping ownership of our writing, we retain our autonomy and integrity, and ensure content we share truly represents us. It also helps us remember what we’ve experienced and learned.

My smartphone is now a fantastic repository for all my ideas, particularly vlog ideas and blog articles. The article you are reading here sat for a few weeks, but I spent a few hours this morning whilst watching this video to type the remainder. Gotta give big thanks to Roman and Jesse for invigorating my thought process on this issue!

Postscript:

That’s the other glory of writing for yourself, as if you are speaking to yourself but in a way that others may enjoy the content. It can start somewhere, digress, come back on track, take yet another tangent, have some closure, and hopefully create a discussion with others interested in learning about AI. Much like this article has done.