Not Quite Complete

At this point, most have heard about ChatGPT. This is not surprising as it is pretty astounding technology. For those who don’t know, however, it is a piece of artificial intelligence that is raising a spectrum of questions from what jobs are about to be defunct to is it going to make plagiarism impossible to detect when it comes to schooling. It then comes to the ultimate question of is there enough information on the internet that personal expertise is no longer that valuable.

But since you are here, let me put any questions you might be having about us to rest – this recent Bloomberg article says that ChatGPT failed to give a complete answer on tax advice 100% of the time. And yes, that is a bit of a nuanced conclusion, but I think it also really captures the value of professionalism and experience.

First, let’s concede what this is not saying. Of course, it’s not impossible to get an overall sense of a correct answer through an AI such as ChatGPT when it comes to a tax question. I mean, tax laws are out there on the internet, they aren’t some secret only passed down in clandestine ceremonies held by candlelight while wearing cloaks. Just like any general tax question that you put into Google, a general sense of a tax situation is not difficult to obtain.

But where ChatGPT is failing is in the follow-up questions. It is understandably not always clear when those should be asked (and from an algorithm’s POV, it has answered the question that was asked, the job is done). A computer can know how to handle the question it was asked, it cannot always know where else this question should lead.

ChatGPT’s power remains fascinating. The potential of AI can be both exciting and frightening. It’s not an expert yet, though, and that leads us back to why you ever consult an expert in the first place.

When you pay an expert, you are paying for the time they have put in to gain the skills and knowledge that it is not worth your time to master. It’s not that with enough time and resources you couldn’t master a subject. You just may not have the time or resources to do so, or you may just not be interested in a subject enough to care enough to do so.

I will not be bold enough to claim an AI will never be able to achieve levels of expertise in some areas where that learning and experience becomes unnecessary. But it is clear that we are not there yet, so still place trust in the experts that you already know.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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