Are Subject Matter Experts Obsolete?
The Realities of Working with SMEs
As a learning designer, I frequently work with subject matter experts (SMEs) for a variety of reasons, from taking me on a conceptual deep dive into specific topics or explaining soon-to-be-launched product features. There are many ways I then use that information such as helping coach the SME to present it in an accessible way, translating the information into a training course or enablement resource, or interviewing the SME in real time to capture video footage. In some instances, SMEs save me hours of time – the most useful SMEs can quickly get to the heart of a concept and explain it in a way the intended audience will easily understand. In other instances, SMEs can slow the process due to scheduling constraints or requiring a lot of coaching.
With the growing ubiquity of Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically ChatGPT, I’ve been wondering when to leverage technology and when to rely on a human collaborator as a subject matter expert. While I don’t think ChatGPT can yet fully replace SMEs, it is clear that the tool can help mitigate certain obstacles and make working with these experts more efficient and budget-friendly.
The (Very) Basics of ChatGPT
The best way to see why ChatGPT is such a hot topic of conversation and why it has reached such high levels of user growth in just a few months, I suggest you try it out yourself! If you’re looking for a more technical explanation I suggest watching this video from ByteByteGo. For the uninitiated, I’ll give a high-level overview.
GPT stands for generative pre-trained transformer, a type of large language model which uses an enormous input of text and data to produce its output – in this case, a natural language chat. The user starts with a prompt about something they want the tool to do or tell them about (e.g., write an outline for or teach me about). Prompts are wide-ranging and don’t have to follow a certain format. For example, you can ask it to check grammar, summarize, take on a specific voice or tone, or explain difficult concepts. From there, the user can refine the prompts by setting limitations, adding details, suggesting resources as source material, and so on. The interaction is akin to a world of SMEs because it pulls from a trove of data and, within a few prompts, can be tailored to your audience, specific area of interest, and level. It’s easy to see how the tool and those like it have and will continue to change the world of work as we know it.
Will AI Replace SMEs?
As a learning designer who creates experiences for those who require accuracy, I’m not yet confident in taking ChatGPT’s responses at face-value. The prompt responses not only need a fact-check or at least read-through, but they are also limited in scope because the tool is trained with information available only up to 2021, rather than pulling from the Internet as it exists at this moment. The tool is also limited in its ability to futurecast and it doesn't have its own personal experience from which to pull. Currently, and arguably the biggest gap when using ChatGPTas a SME is that it can’t access internal company assets such as message boards, intranets, emails, and passing conversations. Essentially, the institutional knowledge that makes someone great at their jobs, is missing from a ChatGHT response. (It’s worth noting that there there are powerful tools just being launched, such as EinsteinGPT, that might change this type of access in the near future.) It’s also missing one of the biggest value adds of a SME – the ability to build rapport and trust with your audience. In 2023, many people still like to have a face, credentials, or overall reputation to pair with the knowledge, especially with videos and live presentations.
While some people are worried that AI is going to displace workers immediately, many folks, myself included, are looking at tools like ChatGPT primarily as productivity tools rather than replacements. The tool can get you started, help you hone in on the things that matter, and even offer ideas that you may not have thought about, providing new lines of questioning (prompts) and more responses. It can remove back and forth with editors and decrease the time it takes to research. A human touch is still necessary in many of the ways we have traditionally leveraged subject matter experts, but understanding how and when to leverage the tool and the human are the first step.
Making the Choice: ChatGPT vs. SME
Let’s take a look at a few rules of thumb I use when deciding when to use a tool like ChatGPT and when to use a human SME.
Use ChatGPT For:
Early Research: Using ChatGPT in the initial stages of information gathering will help a learning designer quickly understand the topic without having to scour Google for just the right resources. This can be useful when preparing to work with a SME by better understanding the areas where you will need to dig in.
Industry Best Practices: When there are many possible directions or answers, ChatGPT can provide an informed overview that can help you narrow down one that fits the intended values or goals of your audience (e.g., the best way to offer feedback to an underperforming employee).
Appropriate Leveling: SMEs may not always explain things in the way your audience needs whereas ChatGPT can explain concepts in the level and format that you need (e.g., explain molecular biology to a fifth grader).
Use a SME For:
Trust-Building: SMEs with relevant credentials or who have built a strong reputation in the field can more easily build rapport and trust with an audience than a response from an AI tool. A video interview with an expert is more impactful, and hopefully more engaging, than a paragraph attributed to ChatGPT or a video created with an avatar.
Company-Specific Information: Remember that internal company information is largely off-limits to ChatGPT. Information such as your new product launch, current customer base, or values history still lives only with the people at your company. If you have questions beyond the internal documentation, a SME is the way to go.
Futurecasting and Storytelling: ChatGPT won’t tell you what’s going to happen in the future and it gives opinion-style responses only based on information it can compile (think crowd-sourcing) – it is not human after all. Informed SMEs can offer an eye toward the future through an educated lens (thoughI haven’t met any who can actually predict the future) and can offer commentary that can resonate more personally with your audience.
The use of ChatGPT and SMEs isn’t a clear cut choice between the two, in fact they can and should be used together to get the most out of both in terms of time, budget, and expertise. As the AI field expands, there’s no doubt that the capabilities of the tools will advance. But for the near-term, I think there will be a lasting place for a human SME to share personal experience, insight that can only be gained through human experience and empathy, and of course, for all of the amazing innovations taking place on a daily basis within companies that are not yet accessible more broadly.
Use this comparison chart as a quick decision-making guide!
