When I was in grade 3, I read a story from Pambata Magazine entitled “Sino ang mas magaling sa amin ni Robin?” It was a story of a kid who excels in school. One day, a transferee named Robin arrived at their school. Robin became the Top 1 of their class – in all subjects. Overtaken by Robin, the kid strived harder to beat him but no matter what he does, he always ends up less victorious. One day, in one of their PE class, they were tasked to do a marathon. He did all he can do to finish the race better. In the middle of the race, Robin collapsed and overheated. Robin was a robot.
Tonight, we received a very interesting question on what is our take on ChatGPT. To use ChatGPT (and other Artificial Intelligence “AI” tools) is tempting. You can finish tons of articles in minutes. It writes perfectly with almost zero errors. My speed and accuracy can’t keep up. It takes me hours, days, and even weeks (depending on the number of words) to finish one feature.
Consistency and Value
How consistently we write and make updates play an important factor in the algorithm. The more active you are the more chances of getting found, getting traffic, and getting traction. Even at work, we work hard to check for “things we can automate” to lessen the manual time processing and divert the time to complete other tasks. Is this pressure enough pressing to use automation in content generation for the sake of consistency and to stay on top of the algorithm?
Writing for local content is something I find the “easiest”. Keywords are not as competitive as global levels. To explain a local event, a store, a person, or a place is a piece of cake. Who else can write better than the locals ourselves? We have first-hand experience, we can taste the food in actuality, we can visit a place when we want to, we can attend the event in real-time, and we can write and describe every detail as no one could ever.
Human Factor
I manage a small blog. I don’t have the most number of readers. My pages are even stuck at their small followings. But if there’s something that I am proud of, it is because I did not buy my followers, I did not buy my traffic. They are all organic. This is a reminder to me that my audience is human. I am talking to humans every day, I have real readers. Every time they visit my blog, every time they visit my page. My small audience does not deserve to be served with AI-generated content. They are here because they find that what I am doing is useful, valuable, or helpful.
If I will shift to AI-generated content, I might lose the “human touch” of what I do. After all, they chose to become fans, followers, or subscribers because they believe that they would get the content they were looking for. It may not be perfectly written, lengthy, or intellectually sounding, but they found the answer.
Google Algorithm
After all, landing a job in Search Engine Optimization “SEO” over a decade ago was not coincident. Those who are “Aunties and Uncles” of SEO have been through a lot of algorithms. For content related, the biggest I have faced was the Panda Update (Penguin was more brutal but it was more on backlink quality). Google is ain’t a fool. It’s just a matter of time until it can fully detect these ‘sophisticated’ AI-generated contents, or it may have already started.
The consequences of getting penalized may be heavy. I can still feel the fatigue. Every day was a day to undo the things you did, to beg for reconsiderations, to ask for second chances, to regret. While it looks exciting for the youngbloods, your auntie of SEO doesn’t want to hide and run anymore. Kapoy.
“Like most shortcuts, it was an ill-chosen route.”
― Washington Irving, The Devil, and Tom Walker
To use ChatGPT was like a ‘blessing to humanity’. It was addicting and convenient. But every day, as we (bloggers) discuss deeper the use of AI, its sophistication, and its future, it becomes a little scarier, like a paradox of our time.
To cap this post, all I can say is AI responsibly. After all, we have a choice to do, or not to do, it all depends on us.
