I Asked ChatGPT to Write a Stock Market Story for Insider

• ChatGPT is a language-generating AI tool from OpenAI. It’s been called Google’s next big competitor.
• Insider’s Phil Rosen asked ChatGPT to write an article about meme stocks and its 2023 outlook. 
• The bot spat out coherent, surprisingly detailed paragraphs in less than a minute. 

In November, OpenAI launched an intelligent language-generating model called ChatGPT that could answer most questions coherently and in surprising detail.

If you ask it the right questions, ChatGPT represents an incredible resource and tool. And people noticed fast — within five days it gained over 1 million users, and now Microsoft is in talks for a potential $10 billion investment in the company.  

As a reporter, the hype surrounding the AI tool intrigued me, and a colleague of mine said it’s journalism chops were convincing (though only if you didn’t squint too hard to notice articles were riddle with misinformation). 

Knowing that ChatGPT’s database cut off in 2021, I asked it to write a stock market story about trading trends in 2020, and in less than one minute it spat out a 400-word story that mapped out S&P 500 moves, meme stocks, and shares that rallied during the early days of the pandemic. 

“In 2020, the stock market experienced a roller coaster of ups and downs as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” the bot wrote, adding that investors shifted dramatically into tech stocks as more people turned to online platforms for work and entertainment. 

ChatGPT went on to say “stay-at-home” stocks saw a boom as people spent time at home amid lockdowns and social distancing. 

“The year 2020 also marked the entry of individual retail investors in stock markets through trading apps, these app allowed retail investors to invest in stocks at lower amounts and even use leverage to trade. This made a huge impact on the market as the number of individual investors increased leading to increased volatility in some stocks specifically the so-called meme stocks, that went viral on social media platforms and were heavily bought by retail investors.”

ChatGPT’s stock market outlook for 2023

When I asked ChatGPT for its outlook on the market, it said that it couldn’t make a call, given that its knowledge cut-off is 2021, and it doesn’t have access to real-time data.  

But that didn’t stop it from making a fairly informed outlook nonetheless.

Here is what it said: 

“In the short-term, the market can be affected by many unpredictable events such as natural disasters, geopolitical tensions and so on. But in the long-term, it tends to be driven by the underlying health of the economy.

One of the key factors that will likely affect the stock market in 2023 is the pace of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world continues to grapple with the pandemic, economic growth may be slower than usual, and this could have a negative impact on the market.

On the other hand, if the world economy continue on the path of recovery, it could boost the market. Additionally, policy changes from governments and central banks, such as interest rate decisions, could also affect the market.

It’s worth to mention that the world is moving towards digital and sustainable technology, so the stocks related to this sectors could do well.

In conclusion, predicting the stock market is difficult and there are many factors that can affect its performance. While there is always uncertainty, the key factors to watch in 2023 include the pace of economic recovery from the pandemic, changes in government policies, and global events. Keep in mind that this is not a financial advice, you should always do your own research and consult with a financial advisor.”