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What is Chat GPT and How Does It Work?
Developed by OpenAI, a Silicon Valley-based venture-funded research company that intends to commercialize AI, ChatGPT is what is known as a “language machine”. Through deep learning techniques like reinforcement and statistics, it can answer questions and prompts posed by users.
Though it doesn’t necessarily understand the meaning of each word, it provides a very clear and human-like statement that can be used as a starting point. But while the masses’ reaction would suggest otherwise, ChatGPT is not groundbreaking for those in the AI industry. Their creators knew that AI would generate these types of results if it consumed a massive amount of information. What is new, however, is that this tool has been made available on the internet for widespread use.
With HR teams either already using or looking to leverage ChatGPT, CHROs should endeavor to understand what the technology can and can’t do for their companies. Instead of discouraging teams from using it, the most sensible strategy for CHROs is to identify the use cases where it can drive value and set adequate boundaries.
So what are the pros and cons to look out for?
The Pros for HR
ChatGPT can support content-related tasks by generating initial concepts that users can edit and polish. Because of this, it can help HR teams save time and increase efficiency, allowing them to focus on more value-adding tasks.
While we have yet to see all the ways in which the tool can be used, HR teams have already come up with use cases, such as:
- Quick drafts:
- Making industry presentations: ChatGPT has been helping teams with the designs and structuring internal company-related presentations and training programs according to their specific requirements.
- Developing engaging email communications: HR teams have been using the tool to create email templates, helping them keep in touch with candidates and further nurture those relationships.
- Basic framework and templates:
- Creating knock-out questionnaires: based on the job description and any role-specific requirements, recruiters can ask ChatGPT to generate knock-out interview questions.
- Writing job descriptions: ChatGPT can create the necessary job description to promote the opening by inputting the desired qualifications and skills for a particular role. It can also review existing job descriptions for biased language if prompted, helping companies with DEI efforts. Keep in mind, teams should always have the final say. This tool can’t replace HR professionals, but it can help them in the decision-making process.
- Simple service delivery and problem-solving:
- Enable chatbot functionality: in career sites, for example, through open API integrations, the tool can help clarify candidates’ doubts regarding job openings or site navigation by delivering pre-approved answers. It can also respond to employees’ needs when searching for specific information, such as certain company policies, unburdening HR teams from addressing each query manually and individually.
The Cons for HR
While ChatGPT is a highly efficient tool for generating basic content and useful templates, HR teams would be wise to avoid its use to converse with candidates, applicants or employees on their behalf. These stakeholders are looking for a human touch in their interactions with HR, and a lack thereof could hinder companies looking to engage the workforce and compete for talent.
With this in mind, it’s important to remember:
- It’s not an HR-specific model that’s been built on HR data. ChatGPT has been trained with unlabeled data, and its output is, therefore, generic and lacks the personalized touch that candidates look for and showcases who you are as a company.
- This language model has been trained on information up until 2021. Rules and regulations, global events and even the labor market have changed since then, a fact that ChatGPT algorithms do not consider. As information gets more dated, suggestions and predictions become less relevant due to model drift.
- Emerging regulations require companies to understand how their AI technology works and its impact when used. While transparency and explainability are essential for HR applications, that isn’t the case for ChatGPT. Its black-box approach to AI doesn’t grant visibility and control to HR teams, exposing them to compliance risks when leveraging the tool.
- Regarding company data privacy, using ChatGPT raises serious concerns. For the machine to be able to deliver company-relevant information regarding performance or sentiment, your team would need to input large amounts of confidential information, breaching privacy laws.
Conclusion
ChatGPT is not the only tool of its kind out there and is only one small part of an overall AI strategy. At the moment, it’s a great example of what AI can do when it consumes massive amounts of information, but it’s not necessarily a game-changing tool for the enterprise.
With today’s competitive talent landscape, candidates and employees look for authenticity when interacting with organizations. At best, we think ChatGPT’s output may be a reasonable starting point for generating content that HR teams can then edit, enhance and customize for their organizational needs.
However, it’s here to stay, and there’s still much to figure out. While operationally, it could present a risk if users fail to review its output adequately, it’s not a bad idea for HR teams to learn and regard AI as a partner, but not a decision-maker. Similar to the issue of AI-powered self-driving cars, our advice is that if you use ChatGPT, you need to remember not to take your eyes off the road.
“We’re at the starting point with this technology, and companies serious about the future can’t afford to get left behind,” says Dimitri Boylan, CEO at Avature. “That being said, we expect larger companies with big brands to develop a comprehensive strategy to leverage AI and to avoid impulse and the bleeding edge.”
