Talk of civilization’s demise because of artificial intelligence (AI) is greatly exaggerated.
That’s what David Karpf, associate professor in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences’ School of Media and Public Affairs, told members of the D.C. Science Writers Association (DCSWA) Saturday as he gave the keynote address at the group’s Professional Development Day at the George Washington University’s Student Center.
This kind of wariness over technological innovations is not new, Karpf said. He likened the hysteria over ChatGPT—an AI chatbot that can do everything from creating content to answering questions—to the hubbubs over Wikipedia and the music-sharing app Napster in the 2000s.
“This is not replacing all of education or all of writing; what it is doing is giving us [average outputs],” he said. “It is not giving us new knowledge. It cannot write better than you.”
Over the past five years, Karpf has read every issue of “Wired” magazine published from 1993-2018 for a research project called “History of the Digital Future.” He’s found that there’s always been talk of emerging technologies supplanting people.
As AI improves, Karpf said the real fear should be whether companies will cut costs by settling for AI’s average outputs instead of paying people for higher-quality work.
“The history of the digital future is bent toward money,” he said. “What we need to be worried about is where the money is going rather than being worried about runaway AI taking over the world.”
DCSWA is an independent association whose about 500 members include writers and editors from nearly all the major news outlets in metro Washington, D.C., as well as public information officers and freelancers. The event drew writers and communications from "Forbes," the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, "Scientific American," the American Chemical Society, the Smithsonian, "The Washington Post," "National Geographic," "Science News," the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NASA and more.
AI wasn’t the only timely subject discussed; the current state and future of Twitter was also covered in one of five breakout sessions that included science on social video, writing about science for children and ways that writers, journal editors and public information officers can work better together. DCSWA President Samantha Jones said the group strives to keep its pulse on what’s new and now.
“We take our members’ interests into account and want to do things that feel relevant and current,” she said.
Due to COVID, DCSWA had not had a full Professional Development Day in three years. More than 100 members were onsite Saturday, with others joining via Zoom.
In GW, DCSWA has found a perfect partner, said Jones, who praised the university for helping area science communicators network, learn and enhance their craft.
GW sponsored the group’s half-day professional development gathering last year at the Milken Institute School of Public Health. This year, the GW Office of Communications and Marketing was the sponsor, with the Office of the Vice Provost for Research sponsoring the event’s luncheon, which featured several GW scientists as special guests.
GW Vice President of Communications and Marketing Ellen Moran said the university and DCSWA share a common mission.
“We both want to keep the public apprised of what is happening in science and research and how those advances are helping us,” she said. “It really is a natural nexus for us to enable this conversation.”
Sherrie Flynt Wallington, associate professor in the GW School of Nursing, said writers and researchers should work together to not only inform the public but also to push for better health outcomes.
She joined Karpf and fellow GW scientists Dmitry Streletskiy, associate professor of geography and international affairs; Mandi Pratt-Chapman, associate director of Patient-Centered Initiatives and Health Equity at the GW Cancer Center and associate professor of medicine; and Sandy Kawano, assistant professor of biology, for casual roundtable discussions with DCSWA members over lunch.
Wallington was happy to have the attentive ears of the writers. She urged them to push the importance of screenings for breast, colon, prostate and other forms of cancer.
“We fell out of the rhythm of getting preventive care because of COVID, but these screenings are so vital,” she said.
Vice Provost for Research Pamela Norris sees GW’s sponsorship as a way to promote good science, which she says is more important now than it has ever been before.
“Clear, accurate, engaging and inclusive science communication not only helps us make sense of the forces shaping our lives, but it can help foster public trust in science and improve engagement with communities often underrepresented in STEM,” she said. “That's something we value here at GW and why we're thrilled to be partnering with DCSWA once again to host their Professional Development Day."
