In the previous part of this essay, we talked about when NOT to use Generative AI such as ChatGPT. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t use it.

When to use: 

1. Tasks that require aggregation

To be honest, there are tasks that seem like “menial” and “meaningness” because they involve a lot of searching and sifting through to get to the thing you want and also don’t add any “value” to your work, your skill or your personality. Such tasks can surely be outsourced!

Though “meaningless” and “value” are both subjective. For one person, a task could be meaningless with no value, for example trying to remember the atomic number Cesium. For another person, the same task could be fun, for example trying to remember the atomic number Cesium because that person loves memorizing the whole periodic table of elements. And the potato-peeling example applies here too.

And by the way, while using ChatGPT or any other AI for these tasks, let’s not forget that AI can make appalling mistakes in doing them. For example, when someone used AI to gather precedents for a legal case, it mentioned a case that never really happened! (This is called “AI Hallucination”)

Example tasks in everyday life: finding a specific piece of information in the vastness of internet, quickly getting a summary of a concept/event without having to read pages upon pages on it (though, if reading those pages add to your knowledge and you want it to, then we are back to “when not to use ChatGPT”)

2. Tasks where only part of it are interesting (for you)

I sometimes get comic strip type of ideas but I don’t have any discernible drawing talent (and it’s not for the lack of trying, believe me!). So, I just want to convert those ideas into a cartoon/comic panel without my non-existent drawing skills getting in the way. That’s when I try generative AI to try and create a comic for me based on my idea. (So far, it hasn’t worked out well. No matter how many specific prompts I gave, the comic generated never came close to the mental image I had for it!) Of course, I could hire a cartoonist/illustrator for the job (and I probably should hire one because the AI is training on the works of these brilliant people and then kicking the very same people out of business!). But then I decide to do that only when I am serious enough about the idea and the idea is good. Until then, I keep the idea for the future … or maybe try it out with my dreadful drawing?

My example aside, many people must have these kinds of tasks where they can do one part but not the other. I’d say that it’s okay to seek AI’s help but we should remember that we might be taking the livelihood away from some very real people capable of doing those tasks! And remember that AI can’t generate anything “original”. It can only look for examples (most probably created by other humans) and create imitations. 

Also, even if you aren’t interested in or capable of doing some parts of a task, you would never learn them or develop interest if you never try to do it on your own first, without spontaneously handing it over to the AI!

Lastly, by outsourcing part(s) of a task to AI, we are forgoing the most beautiful and powerful thing of being human – collaboration, social contact, teamwork!

Example tasks in everyday life: converting ideas into images, text, document or any other form

Tips for Optimum Usage

1. “Show your work”: Don’t just blindly believe in the answer ChatGPT provides. Ask to see the references, the sources, the background of the response. It has happened to me a few times that ChatGPT provided an answer but couldn’t provide the sources for it – meaning that the answer may not be very correct. And sometimes, it even made stuff up and confessed  but only after I confronted it! 
2. Try different angles: In order to not let ChatGPT enclose you in a narrow box of knowledge, try exploring the same question from different angles. For example, when asking about the Chernobyl mishap, explore the historical account from a technical point of view (i.e. what went wrong with the reactor), from a psychological point of view (i.e. how people reacted towards the disaster), from a political point of view (i.e. how countries reacted towards it) and so on.
3. Practice: Lastly, remember that every task, even using ChatGPT prudently, can be improved/perfected by practice! So, you will get better at using it after prolonged usage where you learn how to tweak the wording of the prompts or how to explore the different angles of a topic. And by the way, the AI algorithm is also learning about you during all this. So, it’s also learning how to provide the best possible answers for your purpose.