How Do You Train AI?

This is part of a series of independent blogs about the impact of AI on our world, especially in the field of writing and marketing. It reflects my personal view and is based on my experiences. I am not an endorser of any AI product.

Job postings have been popping up on LinkedIn seeking experienced writers to train AI (artificial intelligence). Intrigued and curious, I applied. Before I could learn about the assignment or the employer, I had to sign a Non-Disclosure agreement. Top secret!

It turned out to be a Big Dog in the tech space, and they were eagerly searching for writers to help train their AI. But first, I had to take an online “test”.

Part 1 provided brief instruction on various scenarios for which they wanted content written and gave a short example. It went something like this: A team meeting with coworkers. Write it in a sports theme, a business theme or musical theme.

They asked it to be written in 5 minutes or less, and you were required to log your time.

The next section provided written information and asked you to rewrite it or correct it, if needed. The directions were vague. Again, you had to log the time it took to complete. This section took me longer. 

All totaled, the test took me about 30-45 minutes. I had no idea what, really, they were looking for or how I did. The answer to the latter question came quickly. 

NO THANK YOU

I received an apologetic email informing me that I didn’t “pass” the test. Maybe pass is the wrong word. I didn’t complete it in the manner in which the client desired. When I asked for feedback on what was unsatisfactory, I was told they couldn’t provide it, per the client’s request. Again, confidential. T

Maybe they thought I could be a spy for a competitor. Or I could scam the test if I applied again? 

Who knows. But it’s funny: I’ve taught college students how to write but apparently, I’m no match for AI?

When I googled “How do you train AI”, a gazillion responses showed up. Many came from colleges and companies looking to capitalize on this AI explosion by offering certificates, classes, videos and more about AI and its training.

I clicked on this article from Medium titled “How to Train a generative AI model.” It includes seven steps, including “Define the Objective” and “Fine Tune and Iterate”, and sounds similar to how you might train a human to do a job.

During a recent walk through John Carroll University, I saw a self-driven lawn mower cutting the soccer field grass. My dog chased it. When I apologized to the company representative standing nearby, he said the mower had done its job by stopping when my dog approached. That’s because they had “trained” it by feeding its AI “brain” thousands of photos of dogs so it would recognize when one approached.

MAN OR MACHINE?

So far, content I’ve seen generated from AI doesn’t wow me. It’s either basic and generic or overwritten and overreaching. I’m sure it’s still a work in progress, as are many human writers who continue to get better the more they write.

AI is certainly here to stay, but it’s hard to imagine that it will truly take over for human writers one day. But will humans simply become trainers for the machine? I like to think the human voice and creativity is irreplaceable. But maybe I’m naive …