The other day, I was listening to The Rest is Politics, and something Rory Stewart said really caught my attention. Around the 14:30 mark, he casually mentioned how much he uses ChatGPT.

Now, here’s a man who’s undeniably sharp, intellectual, and has had a career most of us could only dream of. Yet, he openly admitted to using ChatGPT—almost like it’s his digital sidekick. His enthusiasm was contagious. He described ChatGPT as “unbelievable” and likened it to having “an incredibly bright graduate student next to you at all times doing all the research.”

And I thought, “If it’s good enough for Rory Stewart, surely it’s good enough for me?”

THE GOOD: Why ChatGPT is a game-changer

Let’s face it, ChatGPT can be a lifesaver. Rory’s right—having this AI tool on hand is like having a super-efficient, never-tiring assistant ready to help out at any moment. Need a quick summary of the latest political developments? ChatGPT’s got you covered. Stuck on how to phrase that tricky email? ChatGPT will give you a dozen options. Want to brainstorm ideas for your next training programme? ChatGPT is there, firing off suggestions faster than you can say, “What’s the deadline again?”

For someone like me, who’s often juggling multiple tasks, ChatGPT has been a godsend. It speeds up research, generates ideas, and helps me organise my thoughts when I’m feeling a bit scattered. And the best part? It never complains about the workload or asks for a coffee break.

THE BAD: When ChatGPT goes rogue

But let’s just pause for a second. ChatGPT isn’t perfect. It’s brilliant, yes, but it can also lead you down some dodgy paths if you’re not careful. Let me share a personal story…where I learnt the hard way about how ChatGPT can make mistakes.

I was working on some training material for a client – a programme all about behavioural safety – and in a moment of what I thought was brilliance, I decided to use ChatGPT to create a quiz. I mean, why not? It had been so helpful with everything else. So, I asked it to generate some questions, and it promptly spat out a neat little quiz. I didn’t think twice—I slapped it into the presentation and sent it off. I know, I can hear you asking: What, you didn’t even check it? But in my defence, it just looked, at a very superficial level, SO convincing!

Fast forward to the client meeting, and there I was, confidently going through the training session when we hit the quiz. I’ll spare you the gory details, but let’s just say the questions were a mess—completely wrong, irrelevant, and some didn’t even make sense. My heart sank as I realised my mistake. I hadn’t checked the questions properly because, well, I assumed ChatGPT knew everything. Big mistake. HUGE!

I had to ‘fess up, apologise profusely, and admit I was on a steep learning curve with ChatGPT. My client was understanding, but I learned a valuable lesson that day: ChatGPT is great, but it’s not infallible. And neither are we when we rely on it too heavily.

THE CRINGEY: The telltale signs of a ChatGPT user

There’s also something a bit comical about the obvious signs that someone has used ChatGPT. You know what I’m talking about—those weird, overly formal words like “foster” or “enhance” that sneak into the text. Or those bullet points that look oddly robotic, with Capital Letters On Every Word. And then there’s the dead giveaway: American English spelling. “Realize” instead of “realise,” “color” instead of “colour”—it’s like ChatGPT is waving a little Stars and Stripes flag right in the middle of your British blog post.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all done it. And while it’s amusing to spot these telltale signs, it’s also a reminder to double-check everything and put our own stamp on the content. ChatGPT might be a fantastic tool, but at the end of the day, it’s our voice and our expertise that need to shine through.

Final Thoughts: Use ChatGPT, but don’t lose yourself

So, where does that leave us? Well, if Rory Stewart says we should all use ChatGPT more, I’m inclined to agree. It’s a powerful tool that can make our lives easier in so many ways.

At Understood our aim is to deliver the best possible training programmes for our clients. If we want to provide them with the best possible learning experiences that will engage their employees (and their customers), then perhaps ChatGPT can make use even better? But we’re well aware that it’s also something we need to handle with care.

Use it for the heavy lifting, for brainstorming, for getting those initial ideas down. But don’t forget to check its work, add your personal touch, and make sure it sounds like you. After all, ChatGPT might be like a brilliant graduate student, but it’s still your name on the work.

Have you had any funny or frustrating experiences with ChatGPT? We’d love to hear them— get in touch (just don’t let ChatGPT write the email for you)!

Final question: Take a guess…do you think ChatGPT helped me write this blog post?