ChatGPT is winning Upwork jobs for me!

[17dae83b]

Hi fellow colleagues. I have just made a video on how I tried to use Chat GPT for generating proposals. 

Full video on YouTube: 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[25005175]

😂

[17dae83b]

I absolutely agree with her points. There obviously is a room for fraud. 

In my case It's just fun and interesting way to compare your writing with AI. 

[melaniekhenson]

I feel like this can be a tool like any other tool, but in my field I wouldn't use it to apply (and I would definitely never use it for the actual project). I write, and I lean heavily on my ability to put personality into my work (mine, or a "voice" of the client's choice). In the future, who knows how amazing these apps will get, but I'll still kick it old-school then and put my own personality into the jobs I apply to. It's worked for me so far.

For applying to other types of jobs, I don't know whether I'd want to use an app to apply, because I've never been in those jobs.

OTOH, everything changes. As someone pointed out above, people do use programs like Grammarly. There still needs to be a person behind this app, and there still need to be skills the person can deliver. 

[17dae83b]

It was me who pointed out Grammarly. I use it all the time because I am trying to improve my writing.
And Grammarly is also powered by AI and often suggests you rewrite the sentence for you.
So, there is no significant difference between ChatGPT and Grammarly.

[elisa_b]

There is, because Grammarly suggests corrections for something you wrote, it does not write anything from scratch for you. 

[the-right-writer]

As Valeria mentioned, the content comes from other people, without their knowledge or consent. That's the first reason I will never try it, or use it.

AI can do some amazing things, but it can't, as you say, have a creative, personal voice. I'm certain in writing, there are elements that come from a variety of sources that color our words. AI does not have that capability.

Grammarly checks content, but it does not create content.

By the way, for those who don't know, Grammarly, and any program like it, makes mistakes. If you are using it to correct basic mistakes, while you learn, that's great. Or to do a quick spelling and grammar check.

However, if you are representing yourself as an editor and using a program, you will run into trouble. Some clients may not notice, but the ones who do will get very upset. Programs make errors that humans do not make. Once humans learn, they don't usually forget.

[melaniekhenson]

---

Jeanne H wrote

By the way, for those who don't know, Grammarly, and any program like it, makes mistakes. If you are using it to correct basic mistakes, while you learn, that's great. Or to do a quick spelling and grammar check.

However, if you are representing yourself as an editor and using a program, you will run into trouble. Some clients may not notice, but the ones who do will get very upset. Programs make errors that humans do not make. Once humans learn, they don't usually forget.

---

I don't use Grammarly, but I have definitely seen this with Word and Google Docs. Some of their "corrections" are...well, the types of things that drive fifth grade teachers crazy. For example, I had written that a specific method "may be" best for a certain issue. GD attempted to autocorrect me to "maybe."

I have no issue at all with technology (I love it, in fact) but it's true that while people think AI is grammatically "there," it isn't, in several pretty important ways. 

The fact that this particular one pulls from other writing really bothers me. That's a problem. I wonder if there are going to be plagiarism issues. I have to think there will be.

[the-right-writer]

The programs do not create, they source material, material that was written by others. Will the public accept a certain level of plagiarism? Of course, if they think it will give them the latest greatest tech. Who cares about plagiarism?

I hate to break it to the new tech people, but I have had some interesting Q&A with basic phones. When cell phones first came out, I remember asking questions about the meaning of life, and some of the responses were quite thoughtful. The phone voice was not having a conversation, it was searching resources from the database and spitting out a programmed response. AI is much faster, but even the greatest search engine will return non-relevant information.

If I look up data and copy and paste bits from sources without recognition, that is plagiarism. However, when AI does it, people applaud.

I'm not anti-tech, I am anti-theft. I enjoy some pretty cool stuff because of high-tech. I heard Preston used it successfully!

[elisa_b]

Yes I know I may sound naive, old-fashioned, idealistic, etc. - but isn't it great when you find an interesting job opportunity, and you start writing your proposal? Isn't it exciting to state what you can do for the client, and highlight your skills and experience?

Therefore, even if the use of such AI tools was allowed - why delegate the pleasure of crafting a great proposal to a heartless machine?

[17dae83b]

I absolutely agree with you. As a video guy I even sometimes send video-proposals 🙂 I enjoy the process. 
But my natural curiosity can't stop me to use this new tool!

[25005175]

I get a similar, but opposite, feeling whenever I see a job description that is in clear defiance of the laws of physics. I am sorely tempted to waste Connects to send a message to the client that they are only going to get scammed or strung along by freelancers who either

1. know that the job is impossible but see an easy way to make money, because of the client's ignorance, or
2. don't know that the job is impossible and will struggle against fundamental laws of the universe, giving hope to the Client where there should be none.

But my Connects are generally more important, because those jobs are most often posted by newbies with no payment method. And some of them smell of tin-hattish distrust of science.

[williamtcooper]

Hey Anton, after viewing your Upwork Profile, there is only $1k of client work not winning proposals?

[the-right-writer]

Also, the hourly doesn't match the jobs. So, Ai isn't getting even the hourly fee?

[17dae83b]

I applied accordingly to the higher limit of each job listing budget.
But it's not the point. With no regard to the rate, It was just a fun way to test the technology.

[mayalee99]

What's chatGPT can anyone explain what it does all I understood is its a s

[williamtcooper]

Hey Mariam, it's the newest AI or artifical intelligence software produced by OpenAI that in the current version has indexed about 10% of the Internet with about a 65% accuracy. Version 4 will be coming out in a few months and will index text, video and audio as part of its library. chatGPT isn't that great due to plagiarism, however new API applications written on top of chatGPT fix that problem. In my opinion, within 2 to 5 years, most freelancers will have to increase their skill set and modify what they deliver to stay competitive because businesses will purchase and use these AI tools themselves without the need for freelancers with entry and intermediate skills. Experts will rule.

[the-right-writer]

There is no fix for plagiarism. AI still uses others words. You can call it what you want, but it's spitting out other people's works. The changes have made the program more accurate at sourcing other people's material. It cannot write original material, only take words from those who can write.

[devcycle]

The fact that Upwork won't try to detect the dozens of chatgpt generated proposals that get submitted within 5 minutes of a job post could very well be their downfall.  Heck, I'll post a link to a bot I made that can underbid and auto post on mass proposals.

[yofazza]

I read somewhere official that they are actually planning to use AI to "help" freelancers compose their proposals. 😁

[celgins]

I know that they have used Grammarly in the past and currently uses it for some freelancers to create proposals, but I'm not sure if this is the extent or Upwork's AI use for proposals.

[yofazza]

No, not the Grammarly one.

I thought I read something specific about "plan" or "tests" to use AI help in composing proposal, in somewhat an official post. Not sure a moderator's post, or an announcement.

But I can't find it, maybe I'm wrong. This is the closest I found:

1. Looking for work on Upwork. For example, freelancers may use it to help create a proposal template that accurately represents their skills and expertise that is then customized to fit a specific job post.

Maybe I was mislead by that post, nevermind then.

But in relation to "Upwork won't try to detect the dozens of chatgpt", you got your answer there. 😁

[celgins]

Oh, okay... I remember that article.

[the-right-writer]

If someone wants a program to write a quality letter, they are in trouble. The automated programs have their place, I guess, but they make so many mistakes, I can't recommend any of them and would never use any of them. Grammarly makes errors in, yes, grammar, has an extremely limited vocabularly especially if you use specific phrases.

One of the many errors automated programs make is changing your words to how it was programmed. For example, changing "every one" to "everyone" or changing "may be" to "maybe." The program will mistake "to" for "too" and make similar errors. That's why I don't recommend those programs for new learners of English. It works best for people that know the language and most of the grammar rules, but make a few mistakes. This category of user will recognize many of the errors, and decide, no, that's not what I want to say. Unfortunately, it should not be used in business or any time accuracy is crucial.

The way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised to see Upwork forcing everyone who has made money to become an agency with a required number of freelancers and set them up with every AI assist for proposals, profiles, etc. AI is not going to make a bit of difference in the success of people who want to make money freelancing, but have no skills.

[celgins]

I have the same thoughts about Grammarly. I was surprised Upwork integrated it into their proposal/cover letter interface for some users. I undestand why they did it, and I think it will eventually become a part of the interface for everyone. But you're right--when I see the application suggest I replace "their" with "they're" in the wrong context, I cringe.

When Grammarly was initially released around 2009-2010, I thought it might be a great tool for article writers and editors, but I never used it. I first tried it a month ago when I heard the Upwork announcement. I downloaded the free/basic version and I was disappointed because after 14 years in existence, you would think some of the simplest grammatical errors would have been corrected.

[tlsanders]

Since AI detectors are wildly inaccurate, the result of such an effort would be tens of thousands of support requests every day from freelancers whose proposals were wrongly flagged as AI.