Richard Turen
Last week, I was sitting at my desk, doing research for a group of physicians traveling together to Amsterdam.
I wanted to create a document that clearly outlines the types of restaurants popular in the specific locations they will be visiting. I was on the hunt for one-star Michelins.
I hit my ChatGPT button and quickly posed the question. I received the following response:
"Richard, this sounds like an interesting project. Would you prefer that it be created for a possible column in Travel Weekly or would it be better to create this for one of your Churchill & Turen clients in an easily copied format?"
What was interesting about this is that I never mentioned what I do for a living or who I work for with any AI program. I just don't get personal with twisted wires.
The next day, apropos of nothing, ChatGPT suggested that it could show me how to "interview a columnist for Travel Weekly." It promised to ask me questions that "reveal character, judgment and worldview."
This was my very first interview with an AI chatbot. I couldn't pass that up. It then proceeded to ask me the following questions (followed by my responses):
Q: What truth about the travel industry do insiders know but the public rarely hears?
A: That is, I think, a fair and provocative question. My response would likely center on the fact that innocent consumers are almost always charged travel agent commissions when they book directly. They are charged for using a travel agent when no travel agent was involved in making the reservation.
I also think that reviews by amateurs with no industry perspective and reviews that can be purchased ought to be more widely exposed than they are.
Q: Have you ever written something that angered a powerful company or executive, and did you ever regret publishing it?
A: I can't recall ever having upset a company, although I suppose I have. I do recall Las Vegas and Singapore tourism officials taking umbrage at some things I've written in the past. I have no major regrets about that. If you write under a heading that reads "Opinion," there will be times when someone gets upset.
Q: After all your travels, where in the world did you feel most changed as a human being?
A: Another really good question. If I made my living as an interviewer, I might be worried.
I would have to say that the destination was India. The colors, the sights, the sounds, the smells and the obvious fact that my lungs were under attack for major portions of each day.
Q: What part of the modern travel boom do you think history will judge harshly?
A: Certainly, overtourism and the exploitation of locals and Indigenous people. But the lack of interest in contemporary life and what we can learn from it would be high on my list. The "Look at me, oh please look at me" selfie culture must be included. The idea of leaving a destination without ever engaging in conversation with a local will, I think, forever tarnish those who travel primarily to impress their smartphone with what they have seen.
Q: When people read your work years from now, what do you hope they conclude about you as a person?
A: Another impressive question. Who programmed you, Anthony Bourdain?
I suppose I would hope that future generations remember me as a person who tried his best to get major airlines to stop using tank water to brew onboard coffee or tea.