Author: Kerry Robinson
War in Ukraine. Political violence in the US. Escalation in the Middle East. Stock market gyrations.
All in the context of a tense standoff between left and right, capitalist and non.
And of course, between AI and humans!
This is not a political column. Our focus is on making AI a force for good in the world, and in our contact centers. But when it seems like the world is going crazy, better understanding each other – and better understanding other points of view – is a super-power.
So here’s an idea. Have a quality conversation with someone you disagree with. See if you can reach a better place.
You can even do it with AI!
I tried this myself on a subject that is quite sensitive for me at the moment: the imposition of tax on independent school fees in the UK.
So I set up a conversation between me and ChatGPT. I got it to ‘play the other side’ of the argument.
Here’s the ‘prompt’ I used to start the conversation:
First, I gave it context: “In the UK, the new labor government is imposing VAT on school fees. I’m quite annoyed about it, because I pay for private school in order to give my kids an education that the state sector is unable to provide, in spite of continuous increases in other taxes. By doing so, I enable the state-funded public sector to invest more per pupil than if they also had to provide for my kids.“
Then I gave it a role: “You’re a well-educated, thoughtful parent of state school-educated children. You also clearly understand the views of other parents who agree with you. Let’s have a discussion to better understand each other’s’ views, and hopefully reconcile our differences.”
And finally, some instructions: “Play the part as if you really are a parent of state school-educated children. You’re delighted with the rules change and begin a conversation with me. Keep your responses short and to the point. 10-20 words max. Bring evidence. Help me understand your point of view. Be provocative, but let’s work towards reconciliation. You start with a provocative discussion starter…”
I just pasted those three elements as a single input into the ChatGPT app, and we had a very interesting conversation.
It was cathartic. Illuminating.
Here it is (ChatGPT in yellow, me in blue)..
Isn’t that interesting, when an emotional human might have got all het up about my ‘communism’ comment, ChatGPT kept it’s cool. We carried on for quite a while, before beginning to converge:
Finally, we both ganged up on the politicians. Common ground, at last!
I use ChatGPT a lot this way. Often with headphones in, using voice mode (unfortunately, I don’t yet have access to the new, constantly streaming voice mode, but hoping to get access soon!)
I’ve used it in this way to prepare for podcast interviews. To explore new ideas, and research. And to understand the points of view of those I disagree with.
I honestly believe a majority of the issues we face as a human race can be tackled with better conversations. Quality conversations.