Throughout the past few years in all my classes the phrase, “Artificial Intelligence is bad, don’t use it” has been thrown around negatively. However, I think that we can utilize AI since it is a part of our future.

I use AI almost everyday in moderation. I never have AI do something fully for me, nor do I condone people who do. Using AI as a tool, however, is different.

I usually start with an idea- For example, the other day I was looking to make a new Instagram username. Initially, I was going between two ideas and I couldn’t decide which one I liked more, so I asked ChatGPT which one would be better for Instagram. It gave me an explanation as to why both were good. Then I picked the one I liked the best.

Some may think that this takes away from the creative process, but it actually enhances it. Utilizing AI as a tool rather than an “answer this for me,” is argued to be resourceful.

Utilizing ChatGPT in College
For example, say you have an essay due. Do not copy exactly what ChatGPT writes for the article, but ask for an outline instead.

Let’s say the essay topic is “Should ChatGPT be used in classrooms?” So from there, I would go to ChatGPT and ask it for an outline for this essay with the required word count. Then, ChatGPT gives you a breakdown of each paragraph and their word count and an idea of what you should include. Ultimately it is up to the writer if they want to include parts of the outline.

I use this feature all the time. ChatGPT provides an idea and then I do my own research to support the claims.

Some may argue that this isn’t thinking for myself. However when one does their own research after asking AI for help, like reading academic journals, they are actually educating themselves.

I understand that everyone learns differently, but for me this is most effective. Personally, I learn better when I’m explained something once and then I teach myself after. With online classes, this becomes challenging, especially when professors don’t post lectures or notes. AI helps me learn because I still have to formulate how to reword what I had learned.

According to a 2024 academic report published by BMC Psychology analyzed higher education student’s attitudes towards ChatGPT, most students use ChatGPT as a “learning tool.” The students who thought this way in the study were likely to use ChatGPT more frequently than those who did not perceive it’s importance.

Utilizing ChatGPT for my Career
As a journalist, my main goal is to report the truth. Within that, it comes with talking to the right people with the right questions. I never use AI to write my articles or copy and paste from ChatGPT.

However, similar to an essay, I ask ChatGPT to get my brain flowing. Some things that I frequently ask are “who should I talk to,” and “what are some questions I should ask them about this topic.” I only do this after I have already thought about who to talk to and what to ask them.

This has enhanced my articles significantly. It also ensures that I am fully educated on the topic from multiple different sources. My audience is able to understand and educate themselves about the topic because of this.

According to a research article published by PLoS ONE, some people are scared about the quality of journalism, since AI can make the word count. However, the information that one gets from ChatGPT may not be reliable.

Journalists become experts of their articles when they are writing them, while ChatGPT pulls information from online sources that could be inaccurate. This is why journalists should use AI as a tool and not a spout for information to write their story for them.

Journalists also use AI to help record their interviews- which allows for articles to get done quicker. In the past, journalists had to transcribe their interviews, which depending on the article, could take valuable hours away from writing the actual article.

Will ChatGPT take over my career?
ChatGPT, for the time being, is not going to take over jobs. A perfect example is Coca-Cola made a commercial with AI.

It looked somewhat realistic, but there were still some major flaws with the commercial. At one point one of the squirrels had two mouths, which suddenly morphed into one mouth. There were some other major problems with the commercial, but with a quick glance it would look fine.

However, those in that line of business shouldn’t worry because the commercials have no human elements to it- as an audience we are unable to connect to it.

The same thing goes for my career as a journalist. Sure, AI can write a story, but it can’t quote real people and ask them how they are feeling about a specific topic.

I advise those reading news articles to check and see if the author is a real person. One automatic sign that the article is AI written is the grammar of the article- it seriously doesn’t sound like a human wrote it.

Another example is when people think that AI will take over the medical field.

While there are already “robots” in some hospitals, AI can’t treat people. Sure an engineer can program a robot to “take care” of somebody, but this doesn’t ensure quality care. With low quality care, it drives people away from the hospitals, which means less money for the hospital.