Will ChatGPT

be good for
humankind?
The new and publicly-available ChatGPT
is a type of AI that has been ‘trained’
by looking at over 8 million web pages.
When asked a question, ChatGPT uses Looking to the Future
this training to produce detailed answers For many years it has been expected that AI
that often seem like they were written by will become an important part of our lives,
a human. You can ask it anything and it and for just as long there have been concerns
will give you an answer (although it does of the trouble that AI could cause. In the
sometimes make mistakes). You can also 20th century, scientists, philosophers and
ask it to write text, such as short stories writers sometimes worried that AI would
or essays. The technology is so promising become too powerful. In the short story I
that some people believe it will overtake Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, a giant
Google in the near future. supercomputer has killed every human on
earth except five people it keeps to torture.
And in the 1984 film The Terminator, a
powerful AI called Skynet uses time travel
to send a robot into the past to try and kill
the mother of a resistant fighter. On the
other hand, some people were optimistic of
advanced technologies’ potential to build a
better world. In the 1960s TV show Lost in
Space, a family of humans are assisted by a
friendly robot named Robby.

Nowadays, there is less concern of an all-

powerful AI trying to destroy the world, and
we are not expecting friendly robots just
yet. That doesn’t mean there is not a lot of
excitement and concern being felt towards
new and emerging technologies like AI,
though. ChatGPT is a great example of a
modern technology that is causing mixed
feelings. Below we will see some of ChatGPT’s
positives and negatives.

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 Will ChatGPT be good for humankind?

ChatGPT: the positives ChatGPT: the negatives

Because ChatGPT is free to access and easy ChatGPT is remarkable, but it is also a cause
to use, it could make learning easier. When for concern. For thousands of years, students
we use search engines such as Google, we have been required to find information using
have to look at individual web pages to find books and, more recently, the internet. This
answers to our questions. With ChatGPT, requires a level of effort that usually rewards
we know that we are getting information students who work hard and allows learners
supported by thousands of other web pages, to see lots of different information. With
with the information being given to us in ChatGPT, finding information becomes much
simple and easy to understand language. easier than using the internet or a book. This
could make cheating much easier, and make
ChatGPT can also help people who struggle
students feel their hard work isn’t rewarded.
with language production. ChatGPT can
be used to help people who don’t speak the ChatGPT also presents other problems.
same language communicate, and help Currently, there are millions of people
people who have language-based disabilities around the world working in the ‘knowledge
to communicate more effectively. When used economy’. This economy, which includes
in this way, ChatGPT could be a great tool people such as translators, scientists,
for bringing the world closer together. academics, and writers, is vulnerable to
ChatGPT. Because ChatGPT allows people
to access information easily, these jobs
could become much easier. This could result
in many people losing their jobs or being
paid much less, as their skills are no longer
something companies need.

Conclusion
It’s too soon to say what kind of impact ChatGPT will have
on our lives. Let’s hope that, if ChatGPT does become bigger
and more popular, its effects are mostly positive.

So, what do you think? Will ChatGPT be good, bad, or

somewhere in between for humankind? Discuss with your
partner or teacher.

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 Will ChatGPT be good for humankind?

Questions
Vocabulary

Go back through the article and underline any words you are unfamiliar with, and place
them into the table below:

Not sure Don't know

Use a dictionary or the internet to find these words’ meanings.

Reading

Answer the following questions about the reading, using your own words.

1. What is ChatGPT? What can it do?

2. Can anybody use ChatGPT? What word is used in the article that tells you the answer?

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 Will ChatGPT be good for humankind?

3. What are some of the positives of ChatGPT?

4. What are some of the negatives of ChatGPT?

Writing

Write answers to the following questions.

1. Can you think of any other positives or negatives for ChatGPT?

2. Do you think ChatGPT could have written this article? Why or why not?

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 Will ChatGPT be good for humankind?

3. In 1930, a famous economist wrote that because advanced technology was quickly
replacing jobs, eventually everyone would only need to work 15 hours a week. Do you
think this could still happen? Why or why not?




4. What are some things you think AI could be used to do in the future? What are some
things you wouldn’t want AI to do?

5. Think of a famous technology from the past, such as the television, aeroplane, or pencil.
How might people have felt when it was invented? What would be exciting, and what
might worry people?

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 Will ChatGPT be good for humankind?

Answers
Reading

Answer the following questions about the reading, using your own words.

1. What is ChatGPT? What can it do?

ChatGPT is a type of AI that uses information from over 8 million web pages to
provide answers to questions.

2. Can anybody use ChatGPT? What word is used in the article that tells you the answer?

Yes, because it is “publicly-available”.

3. What are some of the positives of ChatGPT?

ChatGPT can make learning easier, and help people to communicate.

4. What are some of the negatives of ChatGPT?

It makes studying too easy for students, and could cause people to lose their jobs.

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