Everyone who has heard about Generative AI…..USES GENERATIVE AI. Yes. I said it. Don’t let anyone lie to you. That 5,000-page report your boss is showing off might be the product of GROK, and of course himself too.
A few months ago, I hired a short-term consultant to support my education data systems work. This person came highly recommended, and I had checked out some of her work online. All I can say is that she has been busy. At our inception meeting (via Zoom), I walked her through what I expected from her at the end of the three months – a synthesis report of self-assessments bla bla bla….you know….development work jargon. We agreed on timelines and other important details. Before saying our goodbyes, I mentioned to her that if she was to deliver the final report by the agreed date, I would advise her to feed some of the country reports into a GenAI platform like Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT. After all, when the taste of palm wine changes, the drinking pattern should also change. This applies to corporate work too.
After I said that, she kept staring with the unblinking curiosity of a newborn. Like…what did you just say? I repeated myself by telling her that she was free to use AI in addition to the skills that I knew she had. The following conversation ensued…
Me: So you are free to feed some of the country reports into an LLM tool. You know some of the country reports are large, and it might take you time to analyze
Her: Sir?
Me: Yes….I mean…everyone uses AI…don’t you?
Her: Well…erm..erm…
Me: Cut it. I know you use it. I don’t expect you not to use it. Please feel free to embrace it, as long as you keep to the ethics and standards (referencing etc.)
Her: Well, thank you for this. I know people use it. I am just not sure everyone talks about it, especially in development work environments.
Me: In addition to this policy work that I do, you know I studied as a software developer….and I still write code to this day
Her: No wonder….! I see why you are free to talk about it. Anyway, your point is noted (and taken…she chuckles)
Me: Enjoy the rest of your day
Zoom: Recording has stopped.
If you understand diplomacy, you will notice that she has neither confirmed nor denied that she uses it 🙂 This is why she was hired anyway. I love smart people.
Often times in corporate and development work settings, I don’t hear people. I hear AI. When they present papers, PPTs, and other “genuine work,” I hear Sam Altman whispering into my ears. This is because I understand GenAI from the developer point of view. It’s why algorithms exist to detect content generated with AI.
My point here is this – everyone should embrace AI with their full chests, and stop treating it like some “obeah man’s yard” where people go to seek help, but won’t admit that they do. AI or not, we know who a good writer is. We understand AI and its weakness – chief of which is its mechanical style of writing. AI, just like Information Technology in general, is an enhancer of processes.
So if you are not using AI, you are missing out on a lot. If you are using it, ensure that you declare that AI has been used for some parts (if need be) and provide the relevant references.
I am going to eat. Ebi’n pa mi.