So, let’s talk ChatGPT, what even is it? According to an article from Research Gate (February 2023) it is ‘a conversational language model developed by OpenAI’ …’ trained on vast amounts of text data to generate human-like text’. A little scary right? Well, it seems as though the jury is out as to whether it’s a blessing or curse. ChatGPT is already being used very successfully for customer service agents, chatbots and virtual assistance for many organisations. But what does it mean for the future of early careers, online assessments, or applications? One of our biggest clients, BT, have mentioned it as something they have become acutely aware of in the last few months and are in the process of thinking of ways they can tackle the consequences of ChatGPT.
In a recent article written by CityCV commenting on ChatGPT in recruitment, it mentions the pitfalls of candidates using AI to help form their CVs. Common sense tells you most interviewers will have your CV in front of them to refer to during your interview. As ChatGPT can come across as quite broad, it’s likely the candidate will be asked to elaborate, which leaves you in danger of being a deer caught in the headlights when you either don’t know what you’ve ‘written’ or have given false information about a skill. Perhaps not so drastically, you can simply be caught at application stage, as resume builder conducted a survey stating job seekers said 40% of employers were aware their candidate had used ChatGPT. However, it does go on to say this didn’t necessarily stop them from making the cut!
This may particularly be good news for those who are neurodiverse. We know for the neurotypical, ChatGPT can be a good tool to save time and give some well needed inspiration. But for people who struggle to stay focused or have an additional challenge compiling essays this could be a lifeline. Not only when producing content but also consuming large blocks of text, ChatGPT is used to simplify oodles of text into more bite size snippets of information, making potentially intimidating research or application questions more accessible to those star candidates who have the right attitude and enthusiasm for the job. Digital Analytics platform Snowplow recently published a blog about a personal experience of someone with ADHD using ChatGPT, she says, ‘As a neurodivergent person, I’m not always the best at “reading the room” and I have a tendency to crack a joke at any given opportunity, so this is where ChatGPT comes in handy.’ It can help with setting the right tone for any scenario which can be difficult for anyone, especially people who are less experienced with a professional environment.’
Of course, this doesn’t speak for the majority and many employers might see this as ‘cheating’, since it doesn’t account for original thought or personal experience. It must be taken into consideration that it will never be able to authentically replicate personality or be completely original. A quick type into an AI bot will also never feel as well earned as painstakingly creating something plucked from your mind, together with your own thorough research. But it can’t be denied ChatGPT has its uses and is continuing to grow more and more intelligent by the second. In an article produced by Cambridge University, Dr Steve Watson (researcher) states ‘The challenge for educators is to probe its capacities and limitations and make it work for them.’ Meaning it’s here to stay, much like the dawn of the internet, whether we like it or not employers and educators will have to learn to work with it or fear being left behind.
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