Chatbots and information mobility: An agenda for thought and study

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based text production by chatbots has recently come to center stage attention, notably following the commercial introduction of the Chat GPT system (Chat GPT, 2022). Though such systems for artificial text production are still far from flawless, they can already produce successfully some extensive and smart texts following their users’ invitations. Public debates on text production by chatbots so far have focused mainly on the implications of the wide adoption of such systems, notably the danger that AI-based text production may pose to academic studies, which are based on students’ own writings (e.g. Mandelaro, 2023) as well as popular journalism.

This commentary aims at presenting a research agenda for the examination of artificial text writing from a different perspective, namely that of mobility studies, in this case obviously focusing on the virtual mobility of information. First, we will examine the very mobility nature of AI-based text production, followed by its numerous relevant dimensions, which require some research attention: namely information and its frameworks, users, tools, time, distance, and cities.

Artificial intelligence technology has made it possible for text production systems to become autonomous and intelligent text producers, based on available Internet-stored information stemming from numerous sources, mainly books, articles, statistical data, and websites. This autonomy for information systems is by no means the first one in the world of communications. The autonomy of text production has followed the operational autonomy of text transmission, which has typified communications technologies for over a century already, thus enabling instant transmissions of information audibly over the phone, turning, more recently, to much wider capabilities, permitting the transmission of all information modes (audial, visual, and textual) through the Internet.

Wide adoption of chatbots for automatic text production may possibly bring about some radical quantitative growth in information production, storage, and transmission. Alternatively, chatbots may be adopted for the production of some specific texts only, and if so then the question will, obviously, be the production of which particular classes of information will be turned over to chatbots. Further, chatbots may possibly be able to produce websites automatically, potentially bringing about a tremendous expansion of the Web by numerous automatically created websites, which may not necessarily come into full, or even partial, use by Internet subscribers.

In any case, the tremendous growth of automatically produced texts will require wider storage availabilities, whether locally or through cloud systems, and these storage servers, or server farms, may in turn require maintenance and high electricity consumption for the servers themselves, as well as for the cooling of their farms or facilities through air conditioning.

The artificial production of information may sharpen the role of creativity in text writing, notably in academic studies. Whereas chatbots may, potentially at least, do well with the provision of some well-edited literature reviews and other existing knowledge, the interpretation and analysis of these materials, followed by the introduction of new approaches and ideas, will still be the role of human text writers. The assessment of written texts, notably those written by students, will, thus, become more focused on the latter, and rather personally authored, components of texts. Thus, students in general, may require some preparedness for higher levels of creativity.

What will be the role of individuals in the transmission of artificially produced texts? People who will make use of AI-based applications/bots for text production, followed then by the transmission of the artificially produced texts to others, will turn from persons who move their own information to movers of machine-produced information, possibly still attributed to the information sender. Assuming transmissions of fully AI produced texts, the status of those people who initiate transmission will be like those people who move material industrial products using any kind of terrestrial, aerial, or maritime vehicles for their transport.

Still, there are two major differences between the moving processes of products, on the one hand, and artificially produced information, on the other. First, the transmission of information is rather automatic and autonomous (though the autonomous moving of products is also on its way through AVs (autonomous vehicles, see Kellerman, 2018)). Second, industrial products are produced in large identical quantities, whereas every transmitted packet of artificially produced information will be unique. The role of individuals in AI-produced text transmission or mobility will, thus, be a dual one: first, these individuals will constitute initiators of the information production process, and then, they will serve as controllers of its transmission.

Automatic text production may nullify the need for editorial tools, notably those developed for grammar and text styling, in human text production processes. Artificial intelligence may assist in the upgrading of currently widely available automatic language translation tools, since these tools still lack full accuracy in the translation of full texts, as compared to their accuracy in the translation of single words. Probably, academic authorities may require the use of different fonts or text colors for the differentiation between automatic and human portions of texts.

The basic human dimensions of time and space regarding human activities in general have become almost irrelevant, as far as machine-typed texts transmitted through the Internet are concerned, since text typing and transmission can be carried out anywhere and at any time. This is obviously the case also for automatically produced texts. In other words, automatic text production and transmission can take place at any time and place, and to any distance. It is difficult to assume that the transmission of automatically produced texts will be preferred to some specific distances only.

Artificial intelligence will possess a major role in the operation of AVs (Kellerman, 2018). However, it is still too early to begin to assess the implications of AI text production on urban mobility systems. Early applications, though, present mainly the use of Chat GPT for the enhancement of urban mobility services, notably, but not only, through the production and operation of websites for urban hired personal mobilities, such as cycling (see e.g. Potor, 2022).

In conclusion, the mobility impacts of AI-based text production have been shown to be diverse, when examined in their current introductory phase. One may safely assume that numerous additional aspects and impacts may arise, once the technology will become more mature and accurate, and once it will be widely adopted.