VA + AI = The Explosive Combination

2023 started off with a bang for Artificial Intelligence (AI) fans. For the past decade, different AI tools and implementations have bubbled up, and have left some people in awe, and some people in shock, as a common fear of AI overtaking traditional workers have arisen. In simple terms, 

The power and extent of AI cannot be denied. In fact, instructors at the University of Minnesota gave ChatGPT–the latest craze in AI innovation–four law exams, along with real students for comparison. The chat-based AI bot scored on average as a low scoring, but passing student, raising new questions on whether universities should start changing the way they teach their courses. 

What is Artificial Intelligence?

AI has been a controversial topic for some time now, but in the past few months, its popularity has exploded, pushing boundaries that no software had before. In simple terms, AI is defined as “a field, which combines computer science and robust datasets, to enable problem-solving”, but even with this definition, AI is not perfect. It feeds off machine learning, a process in which AI trainers have a conversation with an AI bot, managing its responses and the data it shows to users. 

In November of 2022, ChatGPT was released to the public. This is OpenAI’s bid into the generative conversational AI model, a tool that lets users ask questions and receive natural-sounding responses. GPT stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformation, falling into the category of generative AI, a software that has been trained with sets of data to then generate new outputs. 

How can Virtual Assistants leverage AI?

AI software exists in nearly all industries, and a lot of the tools available, such as ChatGPT, Jasper, and the yet-to-be-released Google Bard, can help Virtual Assistants (VAs) perform their tasks better, helping find errors, and offer solutions that are sometimes more clever than what a human by themselves can execute. But tools like ChatGPT open different cans of worms that have garnered lots of critics, as Vint Cerf when inviting investors to consider the ethical implications of AI tools. 

ChatGPT has many advantages to offer users of all ages and occupations. It has been used by students for their school assignments, by professionals looking to generate relevant content ideas, and by people in general as a possible replacement for traditional search engines, although some are still skeptical about this possibility.

Virtual assistants can leverage the possibilities of AI in combination with their own ideas and notions. Weighing the regular tasks that Virtual Assistants perform on a regular basis, AI can help with automating processes, finding SEO-friend keywords for better rankings, generating engaging content ideas, writing blog posts, and much more. 

Can Artificial Intelligence beat Human Intelligence?

There have been many debates in recent years aiming to determine whether AI can beat human intelligence and “replace us”, as some pessimists like to put it. Artificial intelligence can be defined, as it is a tool created by humans, for humans. But defining human intelligence can be more challenging. There is no one simple definition for what is considered human intelligence, as it is perceived and experienced differently by everyone.

An article published in Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience defines human intelligence as the “general mental ability for reasoning, problem-solving, and learning”, while also integrating “cognitive functions such as perception, attention, memory, language, or planning”. 

Our previous definition of AI similarly includes problem-solving via online databases, but one key element that humans have and computers don’t is our ability to not only gather information and recite facts–humans can also reason why something is right or wrong, learn to act according to social and cultural expectations, and solve problems by using our existing knowledge, or finding new information. 

Mexican philosopher Diego Ruzzarin tested ChatGPT’s biases only to determine that even if AI claims to be impartial, the skewed perceptions of humans can sometimes alter its responses, evidenced by ChatGPT’s disclaimer of not being able to form opinions on political figures or issues, but following that statement by writing a sonnet about the goodness of Barack Obama’s administration.

Humans also have the capacity to engage our five senses, grouping them with our cognitive functions: Humans can perceive the world around them, we can plan for the future, and we can use our own values and morals to guide our world in our own direction.

Artificial Intelligence is an auxiliary to human intelligence. Yes, AI can grab any piece of information on the internet and process it in milliseconds, but AI can never be a true replacement for the human experience as it cannot feel, perceive, or engage in a natural setting–concerns depicted by Sophia the Robot herself.

What can we do?

Virtual Assistants and artificial intelligence meet at the intersection between human creativity and machine precision. When using a tool like ChatGPT, it is important to remember that it is merely a tool, not a replacement. AI is not infallible, multiple tests have determined that ChatGPT can give incredibly misleading and outright wrong answers.

AI cannot stand on its own. It is born and trained by humans to assist human activities. AI software does not have the analysis capacity and creative, critical thinking skills that are characteristic of humankind. ChatGPT serves as a great complement to the thinking skills of a worker, and with these tools at our disposal, it is our duty to stay on top of new innovations and think about creative ways to apply them to our industry.

Avila Virtual Assistant is a company that provides human intelligence. Our pool of VAs has been selected after a multiple-step interview process designed to filter in only the best our country has to offer. We are committed to innovating and rethinking the way virtual assistance works, with modern thinking always at the forefront. We believe that by combining the forces of our virtual assistants with the innovations of AI, we can create an explosive combination. 

Want to learn more? Book a discovery call with us today.