One of the early steps in your adoption journey is the task of creating your adoptive parent profile. This can be a deep, important experience as you and perhaps your partner think hard about your reasons for choosing adoption, your future plans as a parent, and what you want to say to the woman who will be making one of your greatest dreams come true. On the other hand, it can also be a daunting task, something so difficult that you just keep putting it off. Using AI for your adoption profile can make this job easier…and help you get it done.
When an expectant mom looks through portfolios in search of a family to love and care for her baby, she reads those letters carefully, using them to imagine what the child’s life will be like with each set of parents she considers. Having a great letter gives you an advantage.
Pros
The biggest advantage of using AI for your adoption profile is that the job will get done. no matter what else happens, you will have an introductory page for your portfolio. If you like to write, if you keep a journal, write letters to family and friends, and create thoughtful social media posts, then you can probably do it yourself. If you haven’t written anything since graduation day, writing that letter might begin to feel like a nightmare.
AI tools like ChatGPT don’t think or know things. They just add the most statistically likely word to a sentence, and then the next most statistically likely word, and so on.
Here’s an example of how this works. Imagine that your friend says, “Wow! I was so late to the airport I almost missed–” and then gets distracted. You can probably finish that sentence. It’s going to be something like, “–my flight.” ChatGPT has been trained on enormous amounts of text. It can calculate super fast, so it knows the words most people use in their adoption profiles and what order they’re likely to come in. It can churn out a nice long letter in seconds.
That also means that your portfolio introduction will be appropriate. It will be similar to the others that expectant mom reads. And it will be designed to appeal to her. For example, the first paragraph of the letter we asked ChatGPT to write is this:
“Thank you for taking a moment to learn a little about me. I know this may be one of the most important and emotional decisions of your life, and I approach it with deep respect for you, your story, and your hopes for your child.”
Modern large language models are also able to write correctly. All that training means that they spell and punctuate things correctly and rarely make grammatical errors. If you worry about those things when you write, using AI for your adoption profile means you don’t have to worry.
Cons
Whatever AI writes for you, it’s not going to be in your voice. It’s not your authentic words. This is the biggest drawback to using AI for your adoption profile.
Another negative is that tools like ChatGPT are designed to provide answers, whether they have access to the information they need or not. They are likely to write things that are not factually correct. You will need to read through the product carefully and make sure you catch and correct all errors.
Our example letter got pretty deep into thoughts and feelings. “I believe children thrive in homes where they feel safe, listened to, and genuinely known, and that is the kind of home I am committed to providing,” it wrote. “My approach to parenting would be grounded in patience, curiosity, and encouragement. I want a child to grow up knowing they are deeply loved, while also feeling free to explore who they are becoming. Reading together, exploring outdoors, supporting their interests, and building everyday routines are all things I look forward to. I also believe in being honest and age-appropriate about adoption, honoring your child’s story as something important and worthy of respect.”
That’s fine if you look forward to reading together and building everyday routines, but if your idea of parenting is more about spiritual growth or rodeo life, your portfolio needs to reflect that. ChatGPT may be going with a list of things that turn up in portfolios often, the equivalent of “I like piña coladas and gettin’ caught in the rain…”
How to do it
If you decide to use ChatGPT or another AI tool to write your adoption profile, start with a tool you already know and use. If you don’t already use one, here are some you might want to try:
If you have never or rarely used these tools before, spend a little time playing with them. Ask questions about subjects that interest you or decisions you’re trying to make. Share your photo so the tool can make an action figure out of you. This provides the tools with some information about you so they are more likely to write an introductory letter that makes sense for you.
If you already use these tools, stick with one you’ve used in the past. Either way, you can type, “Use all that you know about me to create an introductory letter for an adoption profile I’m making to show to expectant moms. I want the expectant moms to feel certain that I will provide a good home for a child.”
Remember when we said that writing the letter yourself could be a good way to think deeply about your hopes and dreams and beliefs about parenting? Do that deep thinking anyway. If you have notes or a first draft you’ve written, include them in your prompt. If not, go ahead and share your thoughts and feelings about adoption, family life, and the gallant birth moms who make the difficult choice to let someone like you grow your family with the child they’re expecting. Tell the AI tool about yourself. These tools are good at conversation and can simulate friendly discussions very well. You will probably enjoy sharing information with them.
The more the tool knows about you, the better your letter will be. “We’re a free-spirited family with a commitment to helping to make our community the best that it can be” or “My wife and I are deeply involved in the life of our church, but we also make sure to have time for line dancing and home renovations” says a lot more about you than this sentence ChatGPT came up with for our example: “I enjoy creating a peaceful environment—whether that’s through a well-organized space, a home-cooked meal, or simply taking time to slow down and be present.”
Once the tool has produced a letter, make sure that you edit it. Change anything that doesn’t seem right, add specific details that come to mind, and make it personal.
Heimer Law specializes in adoption, and we’ll be with you throughout your adoption journey. Call (479) 225.9725 or use the simple form below.
Inquiry Form