Since the beginning of the year, artificial intelligence applications, including OpenAI's popular ChatGPT, have been a trending topic on social media. Even as a futurist, I've been skeptical if artificial intelligence can really be lifelike. I continue to ponder what this technology means for farmers. To test it out, I have recently asked ChatGPT to answer questions I've come across. I've asked if we should keep exhibiting at trade shows, to write a pitch letter for me and to find the full context of a quote from just a snippet I remembered.
What I've found is that it is lightning quick to respond. While its grammar is usually spot-on, the editor in me has seen ways to improve the relevance and specificity of the topics I have queried it with, especially when it comes to agriculture ones. When it comes to words, it is a good starting point for generating anything already known, but it still requires a human touch to make what it produces meaningful and unique.
Farmers can relate. You have smarter inputs and smarter equipment to use. But where do you still find real value? I bet it’s in the field rep, the dealership support and the consultant who takes your call. Those people can’t be bottled into a computer or mechanized. However, their jobs may be evolving.
A recent study predicted that at least 20% of the tasks we desk jockeys do each day could soon be replaced by AI. Don't worry, farmers. Your jobs are safe. Labor that requires working with your hands with earthly elements will be spared. ChatGPT cannot yet harvest milk from a cow. But it may one day be able to tell a milking robot to milk the third quarter of a cow 120 days in lactation for five seconds longer to maximize the lifetime milk curve of that cow.
Yet, as smart as artificial intelligence may get, we all still want to connect with a human being who will treat us like an individual and not just spit back some response. For this reason, Progressive Dairy magazine still has human beings who answer the phone when you have a question, want to place an ad or need to renew your subscription.
Call our office (208) 324-7513 when you need anything related to your Progressive Dairy magazine. Most recently, we've been receiving calls from those who have registered for our new website agproud.com and want to connect their subscription to their online registration. We're glad to help, especially when technology feels a little daunting.
One of our deepest needs as a human being species is to be seen and heard. Even if we don't ever need to, we want to be able to pick up the phone if we had to and talk to a human being. We still crave that personal touch that only a fellow Homo sapien can provide. I doubt you will ever change mastitis treatment protocols or buy a piece of equipment simply based on what a chat bot tells you.
I was wondering where to go with the rest of this, so I asked ChatGPT to finish this article. This is how it suggested I close: "Let's embrace the power of AI while still valuing the importance of human interaction in our daily lives."
Not too shabby.
