Michelle Donelan sees artificial intelligence as a huge opportunity for the civil service and beyond
According to the new science secretary, Michelle Donelan, artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT could have a significant role to play in Whitehall, representing a vast opportunity. While Donelan emphasized the importance of relying on civil service experts, she did not dismiss the possibility of using AI in the future.
In November, OpenAI, a private company supported by Microsoft, released ChatGPT to the public free of charge. This AI tool can produce articles, essays, jokes, poetry, and even job applications in response to written prompts. It can also answer questions in a conversational manner, understand the context of follow-up queries, and create lengthy pieces of writing.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, Donelan, who is the secretary of state for science, innovation, and technology, said that “these kinds of technologies will create an entirely new category of jobs in areas we haven’t even considered, and the possibilities are limitless.”
Donelan believes that we should not be afraid of emerging technologies like AI and instead embrace and utilize them to create new job opportunities in the UK. While regulations and safeguards are necessary, we need to tap into the limitless potential of these technologies.
When asked about the use of ChatGPT in the civil service, Donelan stated that it’s important to consider the potential uses of the technology, just like any other organization would. She emphasized that when examining any form of technology, the focus should not be on how it can replace jobs or functions of individuals.
The International Baccalaureate recently announced that students can incorporate content generated by ChatGPT in their essays as long as they properly cite the source. The IB, which provides an alternative educational qualification, added that students must make it clear when they are quoting from the AI chatbot’s responses. ChatGPT has gained a huge following, with analysts reporting that it had already reached 100 million users just two months after its launch in February.
According to data firm Similarweb, ChatGPT received approximately 590 million visits from 100 million unique visitors in January. The growth rate of the app, as noted by analysts at investment bank UBS, was deemed unprecedented for a consumer app. For reference, it took TikTok nearly nine months after its global launch to reach 100 million users, and Instagram took over two years to do the same, according to data from Sensor Tower, an app analysis firm.
