Let's Talk AI

Wow, aren't you sick of AI? I sure am. I'd much rather talk about puppies. Little, robot puppies.

There are certainly some pros and cons to using AI when it comes to grant-writing. Proper and improper uses. Obviously, you don't want AI writing the whole grant for you. That would be cheating and no fun at all, if you're the sort of person who actually enjoys their job. Plus, AI makes mistakes. I've used AI to suggest edits, and it has proposed changes to data which were incorrect, moving numbers where numbers ought not to be. And so on. Most folks are by now well aware of the concept of AI hallucinations. What follows are some pros and cons to using AI for the discerning grant-writer. 

Pro: Cheap Editor

If you're like me and just starting out, you may not be able to afford a human editor. You may not have a significant other or a roommate you can bug to read over your grant and make sure the thing makes sense. Chat GPT can do that for you. It can read through your grant and make sure you've answered the question, that your answer is intelligible, and that your argument is strong. 

Con: Not Actually An Editor

Chat GPT was never designed or advertised as an editing software. That's what Grammarly and Pro Writing Aid are for. But those two are geared more toward fiction. There currently is no editing AI software geared toward grant-writers that I am aware of. I'm sure someone out there will correct me if I'm wrong.

Pro: Great Brainstormer

One of my clients loved using Chat GPT to come up with basic program ideas that we could pitch to funders. Chat GPT was great for this. In seconds, AI came up with list after list of solutions to prompts we crafted, delivering actionable program ideas which we could adapt for our grant applications. 

Con: Still Have To DO Whatever You Come Up With

If you tell the funder you're building a house for needy orphans, you better actually be building a house for needy orphans. Obviously, the programs my client was pitching were real programs that he was planning on doing. Every program Chat GPT proposed we would adapt to fit the mission and vision of his nonprofit. Don't fall into the trap of proposing a program that sounds cool just because Chat GPT suggested it, thinking you can backtrack after the funder awards you the money. Sure, maybe you can adapt the program after the grant is awarded, but a grant contract is just that, a contract. A legal document. If the funder is giving you 5000 for "inner city children of promise but without the necessary means for a higher education," that money better be going to those little urban achievers.

Pro: Fast Brainstormer

Did I mention AI was fast? Because it is. Ridiculously so. To test it, my friend and I asked for a breakdown on the import/export of potash worldwide. It gave it to us in about 5 seconds. No problem. I still don't know what potash even is. I just like saying the word. Potash.

Con: Ideas Are Basic

As great as AI is for brainstorming, its ideas and analysis are pretty basic. Whenever I ask AI for a list of writing prompts or even ideas for this newsletter, I end up junking most of them. Why? Because they reflect about 90% of what's already on the Internet. Which makes sense, AI doesn't create anything. It just reads the Internet and regurgitates what it finds. It's a search engine with a fancy chatbot attached. Hate to burst your bubble, y'all. It's getting smarter, but we're not quite at HAL 9000 yet. 

Pro: Chat GPT Can Review Your Grant

You can post your whole grant into Chat GPT for review, and it will give you feedback, like I said before, which is a remarkable tool. It's better to do this on more than one platform, like Perplexity.ai, so as not to become too reliant on one resource. If you get similar feedback across platforms, it's more likely to be reliable. 

Con: Wait, You Did What?

Or maybe don't paste an ENTIRE application online. Be aware of what parts of the application you are sharing. Remember, everything you post on the Internet goes on the Internet. 

Yeah, I know. Follow me on this one. 

Everything you post on Chat GPT goes toward making Chat GPT better able to answer questions. Which means everything you post there becomes part of its vast informational database. Yeah, even your organization's phone number that you just casually threw in there because it was part of the application. Oops. What happens to all the data that gets posted to Chat GPT every day? Ever wondered? Ever asked? 

The good news is we can ask! We can ask Chat GPT! 

Remember when I said Chat GPT is basically a search engine? It is. Remember Ask Jeeves? Remember how much it stank? Chat GPT is what Ask Jeeves desperately wanted to be: A super-advanced search engine which you could ask highly-detailed questions and have conversations with to get specific answers from. 

Chat GPT basically told me that if you want to turn off Training Use, you can and walked me through the process. Data training is what allows the data you post on Chat GPT to potentially be used by the software or viewed by someone else somewhere on the planet. Spooky action at a distance. So, that's taken care of. 

Thanks a lot, HAL!

Today’s dad joke:

Where did the refined swordfish take his date? To see the orca-stra.

See you next time!