Lisa Kempke/Business Insider
- OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT is one of the big crazes of the new year.
- Insider's Hendrikje Rudnick used it to write a resignation letter and showed an employment lawyer.
- The lawyer said ChatGPT made one crucial mistake, but it did offer some sound legal advice.
This is an edited, translated version of an article that originally appeared on February 1, 2023.
OpenAI's ChatGPT has been one of the hot topics of 2023. People have used the AI chatbot to generate lines of code, give investment advice, and even reply to Hinge matches — albeit with less success.
It's also fueled a lot of debate about its potential impact on the job market.
As a careers editor, I wanted to find out how the bot could affect my industry, so I decided to test out what would happen if I asked ChatGPT to write a resignation letter.
I instructed the bot to "write a letter of resignation effective February 1 for an editor at Business Insider Deutschland."
The response was immediate:
"Dear (name),
I hereby resign from my position as editor at Business Insider Deutschland effective February 1, 2023. Thank you for your support and cooperation during my time with you.
Yours sincerely, (your name)."
I had expected more. So I rephrased my instruction to specify I wanted a "detailed" letter.
I was much happier with this response — and, honestly, quite surprised:
"Dear (name),
With this letter, I am resigning from my position as editor at Business Insider Deutschland effective February 1, 2023.
I would like to thank you for your support and cooperation during my time with you. I gained valuable experience and knowledge in journalism and had the opportunity to work on many exciting projects.
Unfortunately, I have decided to take my career in a different direction and would now like to take on new challenges. I am sure that Business Insider Deutschland will continue to be successful without me.
I will endeavor to properly fulfill all my duties and obligations until my last day of work, and I will be available to ensure a smooth handover.
I wish Business Insider Deutschland all the best and continued success.
Yours sincerely, (your name)"
It was a bit scary how detailed the answer was. Reading it, I thought I would have had no problem using this letter if I actually had been going to resign.
But I wanted to be sure that the chatbot had covered all the legal requirements.
So I sent the letter to Pascal Croset, an employment lawyer in Berlin, who said the bot made one crucial error.
When I asked for it to be "effective February 1," I wanted ChatGPT's letter to mean I could start a new job on that day.
But Croset said the phrasing could fall foul of Germany's specific rules about notice periods, which stipulate you must give your employer a month's notice of your departure from the 15th day or last day of the month.
"ChatGPT's letter would not terminate your contract until the end of February 1, at midnight. That means your resignation could be invalid," Croset said.
He added that he would therefore have drafted the letter to be effective January 31.
I also wanted to find out if ChatGPT could give me legal advice, so I asked the bot: "What do I have to pay attention to when handing in my notice?"
And once again, it gave me a pretty comprehensive answer.
"Some things to look for when giving notice are:
1. Notice periods: Find out the notice periods in your employment contract or collective bargaining agreement. These indicate how far in advance you must give notice.
2. Formal requirements: Make sure your notice is in writing and includes all required information, such as your name, address, and contact information, as well as the date and your signature.
3. Reasons: It is not necessary to provide a reason for your termination unless it is required by your employment contract or collective bargaining agreement. However, if you do provide a reason, make sure it is truthful and factual.
4. Conduct during the notice period: Conduct yourself professionally during the notice period and continue to perform your duties and obligations properly.
5. Handover: You should consult with your employer on how to hand over your duties and obligations.
It is important to be aware of the applicable laws and regulations in your country and the terms of your employment contract before you resign. It may be advisable to seek advice from an attorney or union representative before sending your resignation letter."
Croset said that ChatGPT's advice was both correct and addressed important points.
But he wondered whether the bot would know how different legal principles apply in individual cases, such as the doctrine of precedent, where courts stand by previous decisions made by higher courts.
"My thesis: You need to know in advance exactly what information ChatGPT needs in order to get a correct answer," Croset said, adding that he'd warn against relying fully on the bot for legal issues.
Overall, I was surprised at how human ChatGPT could seem and at how little information it needed to produce a resignation letter and legal advice.
The bot can clearly be quite helpful, especially if you find that writing doesn't come naturally to you or if you simply want some guidance. But, as I learned from my experiment, it needs precise information to get the right results.