This is, without doubt, a very pertinent question that comes to the top of the mind amid all the ongoing brouhaha about AI replacing people and skills across a wide range of human interfaces. My mind went back to the early days of Whatsapp chats on the smartphone. Expressions like ‘LOL’, ‘ROFL’, ‘BRB’, ‘IDK’ seemed like alien expressions to me. It was explained to me later that these were text shortcuts used in informal conversations. I could never fathom why a simple text message could not be conveyed in the proper manner! Be that as it may, things reached a head when I started receiving shortcuts like ‘HBD’, ‘HBD2U’ and ‘GBU’! How much more impersonal could a message get.
Cut to recent times; we have ChatGPT, chatbots and what-have-you’s that have presented viable alternatives to those who are in a perpetual rush and who find it ‘uninteresting’ or ‘laborious’ to master the art of expressing themselves in sincerely thought out words. Therein lies the generational gap between Baby Boomers and the subsequent Gen Xs, Gen Zs and the Gen Alphas; generational shifts in adapting to modern technology. As they say, “everyone can be a writer with ChatGPT”!
But is that truly the case? If only the answer to the question is simple!
Language skills across institutions and industry
The English language skills are seen as a well-rounded, honed competency involving the much touted four core areas of Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Adding Comprehension to this list is not off the mark! In the current model of education that depends largely on rote learning, these skills take a backseat. As a thought provoking example, high school students from schools that use English as a medium of education are caught in a bind when asked to speak about themselves and their aspirations. But ask them a question from the text and the answer comes in a flourish, provided it is in the year’s syllabus! Our country’s higher educational institutions churn out graduates by the thousands each year. A great percentage of these – industry estimates seem to suggest that the number could be as high as 60% – are unemployable because of a combination of crucial factors such as Rote Learning, Quality of Education, Mismatch in Curriculum and Industry needs, and the prime factor which is the yawning gap in Soft Skills. The obvious and glaring lack of communication skills that can ensure professional etiquette and team-work capabilities are only now beginning to cause alarm! The reality points to a shortage of ‘job-ready’ individuals in almost all areas of employment. The systemic gap is being addressed now but it may well be a case of ‘locking the stable door after the horse has bolted’!
The current National Education Policy places great emphasis on AI and introduction of technology oriented education in skills from a very young age to ‘position technology as a transformative tool’ so that the integration of digital literacy is seamlessly intertwined into personal learning and adaptive skills for the 21st century. All these only point to producing more and more technologically advanced workforces. Which bring us back to the moot point – is technology alone sufficient to master skills needed for personal and professional communication and workplace etiquett
What does the future hold? Promise or Peril
We can debate long and hard about the origins and the genuineness of this quote allegedly attributed to the renowned scientist Albert Einstein, “I fear the day when technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots”. But it may well be the harbinger of how humankind is hurtling down a rabbit hole considering the kind of impact that modern day technology has on human behavioural patterns that are raising common anxieties among the public.
Effective communication is in the subtle nuances of verbal and non-verbal cues that AI can certainly not replicate. While experts concur that it can play a significant role in how languages are learned, it is often the unmentioned intent in communication that adds the human connection, the ‘emotion’ factor so to say rather than just being a tool for exchange of information.
Besides the human connection that spans a wide range of definitions, among the many other reasons that are put forward to support the view that AI cannot replace language skills, the most notable that resonate with the call for less dependency on technology are the higher chances of errors, impartial outputs and biases that do not support critical and independent thought processes.
The Baby Boomer generation is quite conversant with literature that was imaginative, evocative, aroused curiosity and an overall love for the language. Imagine a poem like ‘The Daffodils’ written using AI! Or don’t. Because it is unimaginable. That poem was sheer beauty of words, painting an indelible portrait of the gently fluttering Daffodils that the poet sees on his solitary walk by a waterfront. It remains in the mind’s eye long after the view is gone.
It comes as a huge relief when it emerges as the overwhelming view that AI cannot replace or override in-born language skills although it can serve as the key to a learner to overcome shortcomings in translation and a better understanding of the grammar.
While the need to rush to foregone conclusions can be avoided, the best way around this would be to adopt a balanced approach to integrating advanced technology with the much needed human touch. This could serve as a win-win in achieving technical excellence without losing the logical and intellectual capabilities that stand between man and machine!
The last word belongs to us! At least for now. It is a reassuring notion that AI at best can “work as an assistant rather than a replacement for human creativity and ‘natural’ intelligence”. It seems to help budding writers who struggle with the proverbial Writer’s Block! Perhaps it will see me turning to it for brainstorming ideas should I face a situation like that.
But that reassurance seems to be slowly eroding when one reads news reports of “Claude Mythos and its autonomous ability to complete multi-step attack simulations in a corporate setup without human intervention”. A very terrifying Doomsday like scenario!
Which leads one to stop and think if that forewarning about technology surpassing human intelligence will see the light of day…some day!
