Artifical Intelligence – Practical Guide

German

It’s always fun to see IT trends and topics appearing in everyday newspapers, as is currently the case with Artificial Intelligence (AI). There are many wild theories and ideas to be found:

• AI wants to rule the world

• AI will make us all obsolete

• AI must be stopped, before it’s too late

Is AI a disruptive technology, meaning that it will eventually change the way we work and live? I think we can safely answer this question with a hearty „YES“, even without gazing into a crystal ball. But what will these changes look like? It’s too early to tell at this point. However, the following article is a write-up of my personal experience with AI and will hopefully give you some valuable insights.

I use ChatGPT almost every day. And yes, it makes my life easier at work. But it cannot replace me, only assist me. So how do I work with ChatGPT? What are AI’s abilities? What can it do and what are the limitations? If I had to choose two words, then they would be ‚Timesaver‘ and ‚Interactive‘. One thing is clear, AI can do much more then just answer simple questions.

But the first thing I did, was just that: Ask the ChatBot a few simple and easy questions, which would normally be answered by a human helpdesk employee. Questions like „How do I create an Inbox rule in Outlook?“ or „How do I reduce the size of my mailbox?“. The answers were correct and very detailled and concise. On the other hand, they weren’t much different from what I could have found out by typing the question into my favourite search engine. So does that mean, ChatGPT is like ‚Let me Google that for you‚ on steroids? This does ring true, at least partially. But the big difference here is the interactive element. I can exchange ideas with the ChatBot and ask direct follow-up questions. Because of this, I can save a lot of time.

Another big win is logfile review. Think about looking through a logfile for troubleshooting purposes. Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest, with all those trees! But you can paste your logfile into ChatGPT and it will be analyzed and explained, line by line. And you can ask questions about any given element, to get more information. But it helps if you already know what you’re looking for.

The same helpful effect can be found when you’re coding. Let’s say, you would like to automate a repetitive task but you’re stuck at a certain line in your program. Again, you can paste your code and let AI have a look. You’ll get a complete analysis of what your program does and it will suggest improvements as well as help with any error messages.

But AI is not without faults. Actually, sometimes you’ll get an incorrect answer. You can provide feedback and you’ll get a ‚Sorry! This is the correct answer.“ Meaning, you can’t trust AI and have to double-check everything. AI will not ask many questions, which means that it will sometimes just make (wrong) assumptions. It can also suggest over-complicated solutions to simple problems.

Sometimes AI will refuse to help you or will not answer a question. When asking for financial advice, the standard answer is „Ask your financial advisor….“. Often you’ll get the classic „Ask the vendor…“. And many answers are followed by some kind of disclaimer, which points to ChatGPT’s American roots. I wonder how long it will take before someone brings a lawsuit against a ChatBot because of a wrong answer?

And yes, you can use AI for silly things, like creating limericks or songs. Procrastination is not something new, as we know from the popularity of YouTube cat videos or meme sites….

Anyway I’m really not afraid of being made redundant by ChatGPT. The best use of AI can be made if you are already an expert in a subject. So I believe, that AI will make us more productive and that it is one more arrow in our set of tools. But it will not replace anybody anytime soon. As an example, think of a technical hotline. When you call the hotline number, you’ll have to wade through a moronic machine-made menu (1 for this, 2 for that..) before you’re made to listen to crappy elevator music for 10 minutes. What if the call could be answered by a AI voice instead? Of course, if the ChatBot can’t help, I would be forwarded too a human employee, just like today. AI is not a job killer but adds value to existing procedures.

Currently, ChatGPT by OpenAI is still in test mode and free of charge. A Pro subscription is available, with supposedly faster response times. You should be aware that all your request history is stored and linked to your account, so you’re not anonymous. This is similar to your Google search history, which is no big secret either.

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