Can you imagine a world without journalists, authors and screenwriters?
Some may not lament the gradual extinction of newspaper scribblers, but wouldn’t civilisation suffer from the absence of wordsmiths able to pen a new bestseller or big-screen blockbuster?
Thanks to the wonders of artificial intelligence and its growing ability to produce prose and even poetry, perhaps few would even notice if these roles disappeared.
One such technology, ChatGPT, a “chatbot” released in its latest iteration in November by a San Francisco organisation called OpenAI, has been ruffling feathers in the education sector because of concerns that pupils and students could turn to it when completing assignments.
In December a student at a university in the US was reportedly caught using ChatGPT to help write an essay.
Advancing technology tests academics
Indicating the levels of concern raised by the technology, access to ChatGPT on networked devices has been blocked by New York City Department of Education.
According to Mark Lee, professor of artificial intelligence in the School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham in the UK, ChatGPT and similar technology from other companies do create concerns regarding university assessments.
He said ChatGPT was already capable of producing exam answers comparable to those from students, making “open-book” exams more problematic because there was “nothing stopping someone from acing an exam using this technology”.
“You would have to be very careful about how you are designing your questions to be testing real human knowledge as opposed to AI,” he said.
“I think this is the final push to force universities to take exams seriously and to go back to the kind of old-school exams in sports halls.”
AI also creates issues about the intellectual skills that will be needed in future. Before calculators, Prof Lee noted, mental arithmetic was valued, but this is less the case now.
“This is going to change how we work,” Prof Lee said. “A good university assessment is one that tests the skills that are required in the workplace.
“We have to see how these technologies change how we do work, and I think universities need to follow in terms of what skills we develop in students.”
Related to this, there are concerns among some analysts about how technology may affect the cognitive development of students.
“Working on research essays inherently enhances analytical, critical thinking, communication, problem-solving and teamwork skills — major differentiators that should never be compromised under any circumstances,” said Adnan Bashir, a technology commentator and senior manager for corporate communications at Hansen Technologies, a global software company.
“I am sure many parents, as well as students, would not be keen on simply cutting corners and taking shortcuts, with these behavioural traits at stake.”
Rise of the cyber ghost writer
The likes of ChatGPT may find increasing use in journalism, following several years in which AI has been employed to write basic news reports.
United Robots, a Swedish company that provides AI capability, proudly boasts that, since 2015, more than four million articles have been delivered to 100 news sites in several languages with its technology. Later applications of AI could involve more complex pieces.
“It might be writing biographies or obituaries,” Prof Lee said. “It might be writing contextual information around a news piece.”
As well as potentially making some journalism roles redundant, ChatGPT could provide a cheaper way of producing press releases and other material for the communications sectors.
People who earn a crust reading aloud may face upheaval too. It was reported this month, January 2023, that Apple had launched audiobooks narrated by AI, while other companies such as Amazon are looking at the same market.
But AI-powered chatbots are not simply job destroyers. There are “manifold” positives from generative AI programmes such as ChatGPT, said Mr Bashir.
“The first one that naturally comes to mind is customer experience and the ability for an enterprise to handle massive volumes of incoming service queries,” he said.
Prof Lee sees benefits in terms of, for example, the summarisation of scientific findings and fact checking. And while AI can generate fake news, it can also detect it.
There are limits to what written content AI is currently capable of creating. For creative endeavours, such as screenwriting, writing a novel, a poem or a song, or crafting an advertising tagline, Mr Bashir said there was “no substitute for context, subtext, nuance, empathy and cultural cognisance”.
These all, he said, require real-time engagement, not just learning.
No substitute for human creativity
“It is not very easy for AI to supplant what human workers uniquely bring to the table in some of these niche areas,” he said.
“ChatGPT’s own user disclaimer openly states that the programme is prone to bias and, furthermore, may not be familiar with world events post-2021.”
People looking to write the next big television hit drama or create a prize-winning advertising campaign “can’t simply dial it in with AI”, Mr Bashir said.
The likes of ChatGPT are best used “to augment one’s own output”, with people acting in a supervisory capacity.
“For example, a novelist hitting a brick wall in the course of plot narration might find it helpful to leverage ChatGPT in certain sections,” Mr Bashir said.
Numerous blockbuster authors have, in the later phases of their careers, come up with plotlines and turned to co-authors to do the hard task of writing up their novels. Perhaps, in the future, big-name authors will instead team up with an AI programme.
This is not as unlikely as it might seem. In 2016, a novel called The Day A Computer Writes A Novel, crafted in part by AI, made it past the first round of judging for a literary prize in Japan. Since then, AI capabilities have moved on considerably.
“Artistic greats such as Neil Gaiman, Kazuo Ishiguro and Lin-Manuel Miranda aren’t created via ChatGPT,” Mr Bashir said, referring to two celebrated British novelists and a successful American author, songwriter, playwright and actor.
“This is not to say that these capabilities won’t be possible someday and that artists shouldn’t be wary about what the future might hold.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
THREE
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How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
The biog
Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb
Age: 57
From: Kalba
Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge
Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last 16, second leg
Liverpool (0) v Atletico Madrid (1)
Venue: Anfield
Kick-off: Thursday, March 12, midnight
Live: On beIN Sports HD
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box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
england euro squad
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Defenders: John Stones (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
MATCH INFO
Everton 0
Manchester City 2 (Laporte 45 2', Jesus 90 7')
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
