Gone are the days of intellectual, human writing.

With advanced natural language processing, AI-generated text is created when already-existing text is analyzed, and new text that is similar in content and style is created. Plus, usage is growing significantly. According to the Copyleaks platform, our data indicates a 108.5% increase in high school students using AI-generated content tools month over month since January.

While it’s clear that AI chatbots like ChatGPT have extensive potential uses for education, research, and the workforce, the threat of misuse and ramifications of such an expansive technological leap is alarming.

THE DARK SIDE OF AI

Nothing is ever certain with technology; ChatGPT and other AI text-generation tools do have their downsides. The AI-generated copy can be packaged with a bow using all the right words and look factually correct. But AI doesn’t know whether something is actually true or false. Even if incorrect, the AI will present the information as accurate. I believe it was George Bernard Shaw that said, “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”

It’s no secret that today’s online world, especially social media, can be highly polarizing. When misused, tools like ChatGPT can further distort any online content. During hostile periods like a presidential election, the increased spread of online misinformation can be especially damaging to the integrity and reputations of individuals, organizations, and businesses alike. Beyond social media, AI technology can provide false reviews on products and services. Even a more significant threat, cybercriminals have experimented with ChatGPT to gain access to unauthorized computers and to destroy computer systems and complete phishing and hacking scams.

Many marketers have thought about using ChatGPT when creating content, but there’s potential for negative impacts on SEO. Google is known for penalizing auto-generated content because the company’s spam policy considers it low quality. It’s also critical to remember that ChatGPT’s software competes with Google, so the search engine giant has no interest in helping those using the competitor’s technology.

Now, more than ever, it’s essential to understand where the information you read comes from to ensure that it’s all accurate. Here are some helpful questions to ask yourself if you’re debating about whether the content is factual:

• Is this a recognized news source?
• Can the information be verified on other credible sites?
• Who or what is the news source owned by, and do they have a particular agenda?
• How much of the content is plagiarized or written by an AI chatbot?

AI-created or false product reviews usually have a consistent theme from review to review. Users should also look for similar reviews from a thematic perspective shared on other sites that sell the same product.

THE BRIGHT SIDE OF AI

It is evident that AI isn’t going anywhere and will only continue to expand and become more sophisticated with evolving technology. So, if you can’t beat it, join it. People can dive into AI safely by learning tools like ChatGPT that can make their personal and professional lives more manageable.

Embracing the future of AI can look different for everyone. For educators and students in academia, AI tools and ChaptGPT can be used for learning opportunities and assistance in grading; it can quickly summarize pieces of text, including whole chapters, kick-start brainstorming sessions, and even give feedback on essays. English teachers can significantly take advantage of AI by using ChatGPT to create writing prompts and improve grammar with vocabulary and sentence structure.

Beyond education, the everyday person can embrace AI with ChatGPT. How many times a day do you find yourself “Googling it?” People can now use ChatGPT to answer simple questions like a search engine. Instead of being able to search the entire internet for information, ChatGPT uses the information it learned from training data to generate responses.

Additionally, people can use ChatGPT to code, create lists, and brainstorm for tasks like buying a gift for a friend or packing for a trip. Google and Microsoft are even testing new search engines incorporating ChatGPT, further showing that this tech trend is here to stay and worth learning how to use.

Adopting a tool like ChatGPT should be used to support, facilitate, and add to the learning and content creation process, but it can only partially replace it. For example, to use a calculator, one has to understand basic arithmetic, and with that understanding, the calculator expands upon that knowledge helping to facilitate and speed up the process. The same goes for Spell Check and Grammarly. These platforms help catch grammar and spelling errors, and can even suggest sentence structure edits, but they’re not perfect.

Users must be aware that these recommendations might not fully grasp the context of what is being written and can be incorrect. The same goes for ChatGPT; a user needs to have a baseline understanding of content creation to avoid an inaccurate outcome.

The best way to avoid falling victim to the dark side of AI is to use the tech to protect. This can be done with verification of all online content you consume by fact-checking and utilizing AI content detectors. Yes, fighting AI with AI.

Since AI is advancing quickly and being used online to create content more and more, AI content detectors are the best tool to be a step ahead of ChatGPT. Users should still assume positive intent when reviewing online content. However, just like with anything else, they should take the time to have at least a basic understanding of writing and content creation and to verify whether the content is accurate to avoid the spread of misinformation. By doing so, these users are thoroughly and accurately embracing the never-ending evolution of technology.