As a qualified journalist and freelance writer, a career at a private client service firm was not a likely destination on my journey. When I was unexpectedly approached with a job description for a Content Creator position at Saffery Champness, I was intrigued enough to throw my hat in the ring, while quietly confident that the role would not entice me away from a job I loved as a news reporter.

At interview, it became apparent that the role would be a leap into the unknown not only for me, but also for Saffery, where the position had been newly created to meet a need. Rather than a deterrent, I saw the entirely blank canvas as a unique opportunity to cultivate a role to fit my expertise, a rarity in any industry.

Within the first few months of starting my new job in the Marketing Team, Saffery had already delivered on its promise of “no two days the same”, and I found myself writing website copy, social media posts, thought leadership articles, internal newsletters and press releases. I quickly learned a little about a lot, from traditional trust and company structures to environmental social governance (ESG) investing and cryptocurrencies.

As I continued to gain more of an insight into the world of financial services - methodically building my knowledge base by actively engaging in conversation with experienced professionals - a technology which can attain knowledge in a matter of seconds was becoming a talking point, not only among writers, but also the wider public.

ChatGPT – a product of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, designed to "understand and generate natural language text" – was gaining popularity and interest, while aligning itself in direct competition with professional writers.

With the mainstream media warning that ChatGPT could see “professors, programmers and journalists out of a job”, it came as no surprise when a colleague recently asked me my thoughts on the technology and questioned whether I was concerned that it could replace me. 

Although the latter was asked tongue-in-cheek, I spent some time considering the prospect of content creators becoming defunct.

It was not the first time I had debated the likelihood of AI making humans obsolete, having written a few articles on the subject following claims from a Google engineer that the AI chatbot “LaMDA” was sentient. In researching the subject, the drawbacks of AI became all too apparent.

One of the biggest limitations of AI is that it cannot validate the sources it draws information from, nor can it undertake sense checks. CNET – a US technology website – recently stopped publishing articles written by AI after readers and competitors noticed “gross errors” in the content. 

While ChatGPT can draft convincing longform text on any subject on which it is "trained", it cannot create content ideas or form objectives; it needs data to be plugged into it. ChatGPT is undoubtedly a great mimic, drawing on content already in existence and repurposing it to appear “new” in a one-size-fits-all package.

This concept, however, goes completely against the grain of everything Saffery stands for. Saffery creates bespoke structuring solutions for each individual or family, it does not simply try to pull together an existing package in the hope that it will align with a client’s objectives. Similarly, the content produced by the firm is only done so where an opportunity to add value has been clearly established. Saffery voices do not speak simply to be heard.

It may be possible for ChatGPT to pull together a generic article about non-standard assets, for example, but it is no match to sitting in a room with a highly qualified trustee with first-hand experience of the ownership of aircraft, antiquities, or superyachts.

AI may be able to explain the concept of a contentious matter and plug in examples, but it cannot anticipate areas of risk to mitigate them, or engage in open, honest discussions when conflicts arise on a wealth journey. AI operates in a black-and-white, data-driven world, but people operate across the entire colour spectrum.

I learned very quickly that people are at the heart of everything Saffery does. While technology is a fantastic tool, the human relationships between clients, intermediaries and colleagues is something that can never be replicated or replaced by AI. ChatGPT can follow instructions with a certain degree of accuracy, but only people can go above and beyond.

So, to answer my colleague’s question: Am I worried that ChatGPT could take my job? Fortunately, thanks Saffery’s “people first” ethos, I can confidently say: No, I am not worried. If I was employed by a firm which creates content for content’s sake, however, I might be.