The Article
On Thursday morning, just before starting his workday, Dan receives a message from an unfamiliar number on WhatsApp. "Everything is ready, you can read it and give feedback," the message reads, accompanied by a link. Initially skeptical, Dan is about to dismiss the message as spam when he recognizes the name associated with the number—Lilla.
"I'll check it later," he thinks to himself, not attributing much importance to it as he heads to the office.
Settling into his work routine, Dan is deep in concentration when another message from Lilla arrives, breaking his focus:
Lilla: "Did you read the article? When can you give me feedback?"
Slightly irked by the interruption yet conscious of his boss's attention, Dan reluctantly opens the document to review the article. It's a detailed piece on smart homes and AI technology, surprisingly in-depth and technical.
After reading the article, Dan can't shake off a feeling of familiarity with the writing style. It dawns on him:
Dan (thinking): "This looks like it was generated by ChatGPT. A shortcut, perhaps, but isn't that the reality of modern journalism?"
Despite his initial reservations, Dan finds the article well-composed and believes it will reflect positively on the company. He takes a moment to correct a few minor errors and sends his feedback to Lilla, who replies almost immediately:
Lilla: "Thank you for your time. I was very worried, as I decided to use AI for the first time to write an article about AI. I didn't know anyone else who could check this article except for you. Thank you again. You can save my number; this is my personal contact. If you need help, I hope I can assist you."
Dan smiles at her honesty and saves her number with two labels—'strange' and 'journalist'. The 'strange' label is his personal categorization for interesting but not closely known individuals, and 'journalist' is a new addition to his contact list. Lilla, now an unexpected but potentially useful contact, represents a new connection in the world beyond his immediate circle.