Is ChatGPT
a threat to the
creative industries?

The theory that artificial intelligence (AI) will one day surpass humans has been spoken of for years, but with the release of chatbots like ChatGPT, some think this idea is closer to becoming reality than ever.

Artificial intelligence is the field of computer science and engineering that focuses on creating machines and systems that can perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, and it’s becoming more advanced each year.

The arrival of Open AI’s creation ChatGPT in November 2022 took the world by storm. The language model, which is an AI that has been trained to predict the next word or words in a text based on preceding words, is able to engage in a conversation using written text, while providing helpful responses, content, and statements.

Despite its positive uses, could the chatbot also pose a threat to the creative industries?

The chatbot everyone is talking about

The popular service has grown tremendously since its launch; just two months after its release it reached 100 million users.  

Updated in March, it can now produce up to 25,000 words, eight times more than previously. It can generate stories, scripts, essays, poetry and more when provided with prompts, which initially sounds good for the creative industries. 

“ChatGPT makes me feel fascinated,” says Cat Mitchell, a Lecturer in Writing and Publishing at the University of Derby. “It's so incredible that we've got such advanced technology. It could potentially be helpful in lots of ways, for example when you have writer’s block.” 

Dr Charles Hancock, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, agrees: “I think ChatGPT can help, it can perhaps even start someone’s creative thoughts going and then a human can warm the piece up with some personalisation. It is a digital tool that is there to assist; it could really help small businesses which sometimes struggle with marketing.” 

The power of human creativity

Despite the advantages it could bring, some believe the chatbot could start to replace jobs, especially in the creative industries. Its ability to create content in a matter of seconds raises alarm bells as this is quicker than the average human, and it’s getting smarter. Fortune, a global media organisation, conducted a survey which found that 40% of workers who are familiar with ChatGPT are worried that it will replace their job entirely.  

With the increasing concerns surrounding AI, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a review of the AI market. Recognising that the technology touches upon important issues such as security, copyright, privacy, safety, human rights and the way in which the market works, the regulator's goal is to ensure that it develops in a way that supports businesses, consumers and the economy. As part of the exercise, it is seeking views and evidence from stakeholders, with submissions required by 2 June. 

Phil Harvey, University of Derby graduate and CEO of marketing agency Fluid Ideas, says his organisation is conscious of the threat ChatGPT could bring. “We’re really taking AI seriously,” he says. “We’ve got a channel dedicated to it, looking at threats and opportunities, and we are looking at five areas: web design, front-end user experience, back-end development, content and project management. 

“Recent press articles are saying ChatGPT is no fad – it’s a new technological revolution and it could replace 20 per cent of today’s workforce. However, the advice at the moment is to embrace the developments and use this new wave of tech to complement our skills, which is what we’re trying to do.” 

Cat believes its lack of originality makes it unlikely that it can replace the role of humans entirely: “We know that ChatGPT draws from pre-existing texts in order to give us information. Creative work needs to be original and surprising, and it’s unlikely you will get that, so at the moment it pretty much requires human intervention.  

“I think when these different technologies come out, we always worry about what effect they may have, but I do think it can remind us of how valuable that human element is.”  

With Microsoft investing £10 billion into the chatbot, it’s evident that it will get more advanced as time goes on.  

“ChatGPT can create exciting ideas, but humans still need to have the power to check these ideas and expand on them, so I don’t see it taking over their roles entirely at the moment,” says Charles. 

“We know, however, that this could look very different in the future. I do think it will become more advanced and, in turn, be much more personal and reflect what you need it to do more which could lead to problems.” 

We asked ChatGPT if it thought it was possible for it to take over the roles of humans in the creative sector, and while it appreciates its capabilities, it agreed on its lack of creativity and understands why it will never be able to replicate what we, as humans, can do. 

It responded: “As an AI language model, I am designed to generate text quickly and efficiently based on the input prompts and training data. While I am capable of producing various forms of creative writing, I do not possess the consciousness, emotions, and experiences of a human being that are necessary to fully understand the human condition and produce truly authentic and original creative works. Therefore, I don't see myself as a replacement for humans in the creative industry.” 

Importance of critical thinking

Sites such as Medium and IE University have featured discussions about whether ChatGPT will lead to a decline in our ability to think critically if we rely on it to produce content, which could be a danger to the industry. 

“The problem with ChatGPT is that the developers are captivated by a statistical approach of finding patterns. They want to find the patterns in the way we think, in our words and in the world in general, and they believe this can replicate how humans do things,” says Richard Self, Senior Lecturer in Governance of Advanced and Emerging Technologies at the University of Derby. 

“By doing this, they are not going back to the science of linguistics in any deep sense, and all they are doing is using probability to come up with the next word. There’s absolutely no concept of understanding, and therefore it does not involve any critical thinking or originality, which is what you need in the creative sector, it just looks through a big map of statistics.” 

Due to these patterns, many have noted that the chatbot is not completely accurate and cannot be accredited as a trustworthy source. Charles explains: "ChatGPT is great in providing speed and ease of creating volumes of text, but the disadvantage is that we do not always know if what it is telling us is authentic or not. Because of this, the use of critical thinking and the ability to validate the information presented to us is more important than ever. In its current state, it needs human intervention.” 

Issues with copyright

Another issue with artificial intelligence is copyright. The system gains its information from pre-existing texts and sources and therefore complicates the idea of ownership, and who would be liable for copyright infringement if it were to generate content that is substantially similar to copyrighted works.  

“With ChatGPT, you can tell it to write a short story in the style of another famous author who already exists and that just seems morally problematic as it’s not the same as being inspired by another piece of creative work,” says Cat. 

“It is actually that other person’s work being used directly, so I think it becomes complicated on the idea of ownership and who gets to benefit from the content. If the story becomes popular and makes a lot of money, does the original creator have the right to any of that money? It could cause a lot of issues in the creative field.” 

Richard is particularly interested in how this will play out in future law cases due to the issues surrounding copyright.  

“Humans essentially learn by copying, in the hope that they will actually develop their own style. 

“With the chatbot allowing you to prompt it to write in the style of someone else, things will begin to become very difficult as copyright is fundamentally related to the sweat of the brow test. This means when rearranging the text you are provided with, how much effort have you put into modifying and recreating it to make it your own piece? 

“Because of this, things could become very messy in a legal sense for many people utilising ChatGPT for the next year or two.” 

Friend or foe?

When asked whether it believes it could replace humans if it were to become more advanced as time goes on, ChatGPT said: “It's possible that as AI technology advances, AI language models like myself could become more sophisticated and capable of producing even more complex and nuanced creative works. However, even with such advancements, I believe that AI will always be limited by its lack of subjective experience and emotional intelligence, which are essential elements of many creative works.  

“Furthermore, there will always be a need for human creativity and ingenuity in the creative industry, as many works of art are deeply rooted in human experiences, emotions, and perspectives. While AI can assist in certain aspects of the creative process, it cannot fully replace the human element that makes creative works unique and meaningful. 

“In summary, while AI technology will undoubtedly continue to evolve and improve, I believe that the role of AI language models in the creative industry will always be complementary to human creativity rather than a replacement for it.” 

Interesting food for thought.  

Written by Kyle Lynch