LinkedIn has started rolling out a new generative AI feature to posts on the platform. Not everyone has it yet, and details around transparency, legitimate information sharing, and using posts to train have been light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LinkedIn first announced its intentions to offer generative AI posts a few months ago. It\u2019s also not the first generative AI tool to be released by the organisation. It already offers this for \u2018Collaborative Posts\u2019 as well as job, advertising, and profile description writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When creating a fresh post, this tool gives users the option to create a \u2018draft\u2019 with the use of AI. It asks users for a detailed explanation of what they want the post to say, including examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the AI deems there isn\u2019t enough detail, users are asked to essentially try again:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Users have begun reporting gaining access to this feature over the past week. At the present time, it\u2019s unclear how these users have been targeted, such as region or account type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, this author has seen posts from users in different areas of Australia with access to the feature but does not personally have access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen it comes to posting on LinkedIn, we\u2019ve heard that you generally know what you want to say, but going from a great idea to a full-fledged post can be challenging and time-consuming. So, we\u2019re starting to test a way for members to use generative AI directly within the LinkedIn share box.,\u201d Keren Baruch, Director of Product at LinkedIn, wrote in a blog post announcing the new feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cResponsible AI is a foundational part of this process so we\u2019ll be moving thoughtfully to test this experience before rolling it out to all our members.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LinkedIn wouldn\u2019t answer questions around this generative AI feature
This thoughtful approach to AI unfortunately did not extend to questions about the rollout. The organisation declined to answer SmartCompany\u2019s questions and pointed instead to previous blog posts it had published regarding AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This included its responsible AI principles, its approach to detecting AI-generated profile photos, how it uses AI to protect member data, and a post on how it applied its responsible AI principles in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of our questions included potential plans to flag posts that had been written by AI for transparency, measures being put in place to ensure post accuracy and not help spread misinformation, and whether these posts will be used to train the large language model (LLM) that LinkedIn\u2019s AI is powered by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On that, it\u2019s been previously reported that LinkedIn has used both GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 to build its various AI-powered writing suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LinkedIn has also specifically mentioned Microsoft\u2019s leadership when it comes to the platform\u2019s Responsible AI Principles, which makes sense since the tech giant owns the platform. Some of these principles include providing transparency, upholding trust, and embracing accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing concerns around responsible AI
It\u2019s worth noting that the Our Responsible AI Principles in Practice post does address some concerns around the use of AI on the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, it showed that when AI has been used to help create Collaborative Articles, job descriptions, and profile descriptions the user is made aware of the use of AI to generate this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the language is quite specific here and it\u2019s unclear whether this same transparency is afforded to readers of this content. For example, other LinkedIn members will also see a box explaining that a job, article, or profile has been written with LinkedIn\u2019s internal AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, this specific blog post went into detail about trust, accountability and safety. The major focus of this was around AI governance and the checks, balances and potential biases LinkedIn goes through with its use of AI. And that\u2019s fantastic. These are integral things that any organisation utilising generative AI needs to be doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it still does not answer the question around public accountability and transparency once generative AI is publicly facing on the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And this is a shame. When LinkedIn is making a big deal about transparency with generative AI, why is it not clear whether the readers, as well as the creators, will be made aware of when these tools have been implemented?
At a time when LinkedIn is making algorithm adjustments in an attempt to elevate conversations on the platform, the decision to build in a native tool that creates more generic content seems like an unusual decision,\u201d Steph Clarke, a Melbourne Futurist, said to SmartCompany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clarke also happens to be one of the LinkedIn users who now have access to its generative AI feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an increased call for more transparency in how and where AI is used. Atlassian called for a traffic light system just last week, and New York requires organisations to declare, and audit, AI use in recruitment decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LinkedIn has potentially missed an opportunity to lead the way on this transparency in the social media space when it built this AI post generator into the platform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being the devil\u2019s advocate
While AI is certainly not new, it is still in its infancy when it comes to public use (particularly generative AI) and the necessary regulations and responsibilities that come with that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a great deal of warranted fear to be had around jobs losses, potential bias, the spread of misinformation and harmful content generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s because of this that people are calling for that extra layer of transparency when it comes to AI generated content. And I\u2019m one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I was challenged by one perspective on Clarke\u2019s post about LinkedIn generative AI rollout. The commenter pointed out that the use of ghost writers has been common practice for years \u2014 from books to even blog and social media posts \u2014 particularly in the business world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s a damn good point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Copywriters, PR professionals, and even interns have been penning words for CEOs since forever. Most professionals know this, and yet disclosure has never been an expectation. And yet many of us are demanding it now with the introduction of widely available generative AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, there are other considerations when it comes to humans versus robots. AI hallucinations and incorrect \u2018facts\u2019 are still real problems, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I\u2019d be lying if I didn\u2019t admit this gave me pause, like so many things in the greater AI debate do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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