Caught using ChatGPT to write email

[Jidemummu199]

I don't normally use it to write emails just to structute blog outlines. So I had ever used it to write any text until then. I heard a lot of people have been using it for emails and I was curious to give it a try. Nothing else. The thing is what I didn't know the header and footer prompt responses were visible until I had already hit send about 15 minutes later. I immediately sent an brief apology to my colleague. We are normally very close and we think very highly of each other. So now I'm now concerned that this will make them think lesser of me. I will go into the office tomorrow and I'm nervous to see them. My husband tells me not to worry it happens. But do you think I'm worrying over nothing? One thing for sure is that I won't be trying it for emails again!

In my work, using it for anything (other than for summarising some very peripheral information which is simple if lengthy and has little bearing on anything) is absolutely impossible. I had high hopes but the amount of mistakes is ridiculous (and they are also often ridiculous mistakes). With legal cases it sometimes even makes completely fictional ones up (really! With citations and everything!) or completely gets them wrong. Or conversely it just leaves out the most important/definitive case in a particular issue. When you remind it, it says something like "oh yes, there's that one too, sorry".

I tried asking it about a legal case I happened to have been involved in as a party and which was reported. It totally misrepresented my role, profession and what the case was about, and even placed it in New Zealand, where I have never been! That was an eye-opener! (When I asked it the same thing again a few days later it then had more or less the correct details, so totally inconsistent).

Asking for a timeline of events from a descriptive set of records has also led to total nonsense, it really does not understand at all things like what happened when and how events were related to each other in time. It misunderstands an awful lot. In short, it does not really help me. I wouldn't bother with it for emails and so on honestly.

Maybe it will improve in time?

PS I have used it to ask about the weather in certain places, and so what clothes I should take on a trip, and it did get that right, but there are other ways of doing that of course!

I'm playing around with AI for work.

I write all my emails with AI.

What's wrong with using technology to help with your work? We have Microsoft Copilot so all data is completely safe and has a company fence round it. We are encouraged to use it as it saves time, which we can use to do more important things. You always have to proofread and edit the content though.

Those who do not use AI and refuse to go with the times will be disadvantaged.

If I used it in any substantive sense for my work (as it is now) I would be more than disadvantaged, I'd probably be struck off by my professional body!

It's very useful for things like marketing emails or social media posts where you have to send six different versions of the same information and you need to come up with different ways of cheerfully promoting the same product using new and fresh language each time.

Write a promo sentence about a new lipstick in shade Fair Rose, it's shimmery and creamy

ChatGPT said:
Introducing Fair Rose — a creamy, shimmery lipstick that glides on like silk and leaves your lips glowing with the perfect hint of petal-pink radiance.

You said:
Rewrite five times using a fresh approach each time

ChatGPT said:
Sure! Here are five fresh takes on the promo sentence for the Fair Rose lipstick:
1. Elegant & Minimal:
Fair Rose — a soft shimmer, a creamy touch, and the effortless glow of fresh-picked petals.
2. Bold & Playful:
Turn up the charm with Fair Rose — a creamy, dazzling pink that kisses your lips with shimmer and shine.
3. Romantic & Dreamy:
Fall in love with Fair Rose — where creamy texture meets luminous shimmer for a pout that whispers romance.
4. Chic & Trendy:
Glow up with Fair Rose — a modern pink with a creamy shimmer finish that’s made to slay all day.
5. Natural & Fresh:
Meet Fair Rose: a dewy, creamy lipstick that brings a fresh bloom of shimmer to your everyday look.

That took ChatGPT less than a second to produce.

I think there is a big push in a lot of organisations to be using AI. I suspect a lot of junior roles will be replaced in the not too distant future but that isn’t necessarily a good thing. There is a push at my workplace for AI minutes and a lot of them are pretty bad. It’s great for transcription and summarising documents but rubbish at spotting sarcasm or nuance so everything does have to be checked. Some colleagues have said they basically write all their emails with it now. I think you do have to be experimenting with it or risk being left behind.

Are they similarly neanderthal about spelling and grammar checkers? For sure, GenAI doesn't get everything right, but it's a tool like any other; use it for what it is good for (drafting, critiquing, summarising, idea generation) and take responsibility for your work by reviewing and correcting the output.

We have our own version at work and are encouraged to use it, they run courses.
I’d just say you were trying it for first time and sorry for errors.

Another one who is encouraged to use AI at work to save time on stuff like emails, our tech teams are building our own software to help and it’s in management objectives. I wouldn’t worry.

Everyone isn't doing it, I write many emails a day and have never even tried any AI tool and judging by the emails I receive no one I deal with is using it either

It certainly wouldn't speed my work up

But they are all pretty basic and obvious. Anyone who's supposed to be writing stuff like that for a living should be able to come up with anything at least as good as that very quickly too.

Should probably say, since I see @theDudesmummy refers to her legal work that using public GenAI tools such as ChatGPT for confidential work is, of course, a very different thing from using private GenAI trained on internal records and documents

If you don't mind me asking, but what exactly do your emails consist of?

When I either send or receive emails they are just generally arranging meeting times or requests (or just a bit of gossip).

Quite frankly, I really don't understand what sort of emails everybody is sending that requires AI help.

At my work we are encouraged to use AI for writing emails (and lots of other things) so I don’t see the big deal. Just own it rather than apologising, I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong.

I genuinely don't see any way that I will be disadvantaged at work by continuing to write my own emails

I can express myself perfectly well and know my stuff, why would I write a request to AI to do it when it doesn't understand what I do?

I use copilot all the time who gives a stuff if I sit for 10 mins composing an email or whack down what I want or say then ask copilot to make it sound professional and wham there we are saved my self time dithering

Honestly I wouldn’t be impressed. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with someone who is using AI because I don’t trust that you aren’t doing things and checking things - and you haven’t checked it. I think in these instances AI is lazy. I’m not a fan.

If a colleague sent me an email with the AI prompts, I'd assume they were just practising. This day and age I'd assume everyone uses co-pilot and would propably be jealous that I hadn't thought about using it for a simple email.

Well done.

By using chat gpt and others encouraging people to do the same you are opening up a gateway for millions of jobs to be taken over by AI.

How are you going to like that when AI is officially doing your job, given it’s doing it already?

When I started work (many decades ago, old as the hills) this was one of the things secretaries were very good at. Me dictating (onto an actual tape)- 'Sarah can you do a letter to Bob Smith saying dah dah dah, got your letter and so on' and 10 minutes later she'd bring me the perfect letter to sign.

Don’t be one of those.

How is it massively different to us all using Google for goodness knows how many years. I just see it as an advanced version of Google to be honest.

I think it’s sad that written text will all be the same sort of style. How boring is this quick perfection lark going to become. I’ve used it and it’s pretty addictive and I’m not sure I like losing my ability to write well through my own brain. Everyone does it OP so I wouldn’t worry.

I really wouldn't worry about it. I use chat GPT on the daily as do almost all my colleagues - we work in development!