I must start with a confession.
I was late to the ChatGPT party.
ChatGPT was released on 30th November 2022 and I didn’t start my experiments with ChatGPT till Feb 2023.
To be honest, it didn’t catch my fancy when it launched. I assumed it was just another new AI kid on the block that was creating a lot of hype. And, like all the previous ones, it will prove so full of stupidity that, you know, people will just give up on it.
Come January and people were still talking about it
I was also super busy launching a restaurant in December 2022, and completely immersed in offline marketing strategies for once. So things online were not much on my radar though I did read a few articles that landed in my inbox. Like this one from the New York Times.
But come January and people were still talking about how awesome, scary and really intelligent ChatGPT was. I continued to assume it was momentary. That after the stupor of New Year revelry was over, people had pounced upon ChatGPT as the latest new thing in full throttle and hence social media and internet was being inundated with it.
But I also said to myself – I need to try it. Just so I could boast about it.
I headed over to the ChatGPT website and of course it was down because it had reached its capacity at that moment in time.
In a way I was relieved. I could simply say (to whom, it didn’t matter!) I tried to but couldn’t check out ChatGPT for myself because it was filled to capacity. And move on.
But a few weeks later, the mention of ChatGPT moved from the body of the emails in my inbox to the subject line, and then I just couldn’t ignore it any longer.
Testing on Notion AI
I realized I had to make a real effort.
Around the same time I also received a message from Notion saying I could now test out their AI capabilities.
Now, Notion AI is also built on GPT-3 – a neural network machine learning model that has been trained on Internet data.
So I was like, great. Because here, I didn’t have to do any login or anything.
I just opened the Notion page and typed in a prompt.
The answer that it spit out was very unimpressive.
And, well, for me, the matter closed at that.
But then, you know, after a few hours, it just struck me it was not that bad. The problem was with my expectations.
I was expecting a fully polished output, and so I was disappointed. What if I could use it as an outline or maybe a shitty first draft, which like every writer I struggle to write at times!
Especially when it is an uninteresting topic. We all have to do client work to keep the cash flowing in, right?
Getting on to the real thing
I decided to give ChatGPT another try.
But the right way. And so I tried to log into ChatGPT once again.
And guess what?
I was successful in creating an account and logging in.
The one thing different in ChatGPT (compared with Notion AI) is the conversations are saved and you can open it later to continue the conversation. The ‘chat’ part at play!
My very first prompt for ChatGPT
The first thing I wanted ChatGPT to do was create some promotional content for my book.
I wrote this book – 24 Hours Are Enough – and published it way back in 2021. On the first day itself, it reached the top 100 business books on Amazon.
But then, I stopped marketing and it of course tanked.
I always knew that I should continue promoting. But marketing and promotion — I am not very comfortable with them.
But here was an opportunity to make amends and that’s what I wanted to check. Could ChatGPT help me create regular marketing content for my book?
Guess it can. See the transcript of my conversations with ChatGPT.
ME: Write me a headline that positions 24 Hours are Enough as the solution to lack of time for women who work from home
ChatGPT: “Revolutionize Your Work-From-Home Routine with 24 Hours are Enough – The Ultimate Time Management Solution for Women”
ME: 24 hours are enough is a book
ChatGPT: I apologize for the confusion. Here’s an updated headline: “Unlock Time Management Secrets: How ’24 Hours are Enough’ Helps Women Working from Home Achieve Work-Life Balance”.
ME: Write a headline that emphasizes the unique benefits of 24 Hours are enough in solving prioritization for women who work from home
ChatGPT: “Mastering Prioritization Made Simple: How ’24 Hours are Enough’ Empowers Women to Efficiently Manage Work and Home Life”
ME: Craft a social media post that generates excitement and urgency around 24 hours are enough’s ability to solve prioritization issues for women who work from home
ChatGPT: “Attention all busy work-from-home moms! 📢 Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed and struggling to prioritize your daily tasks? Look no further! 💥 ’24 Hours are Enough’ is here to help you take control of your schedule and maximize your productivity. 🚀 Say goodbye to endless to-do lists and hello to work-life balance! ⏰ Don’t wait – get your copy now! 📚 #24HoursAreEnough #Productivity #WorkFromHome #Prioritization”
Did you notice how well it took my new inputs? And the social media post has all the right emojis sprinkled in! And the best part?
It was done in 5 minutes flat.
Maybe I found it good because it was better than what I could write.
But that will not stop me from using it. It’s giving me something better.
So basically all I need to do is find 10-15 minutes every day or one hour per week to use ChatGPT and generate all marketing content for the month!!
Next I tried getting some content for the tech reviews
I am a technology writer, so I am always writing reviews of tech tools. So I thought why not see how ChatGPT handles this one.
And the results were hilarious. At least for me.
Because ChatGPT answered like a student who is sitting her exam and doesn’t know the exact answers but has some idea. And she’ll try to write something to get at least some marks. Avoid 0 out of 5 and get at least 1.5 or 2!
Plus, when I started prompting it for comparisons with similar tools, the answers were too similar for my comfort. Plus the words used were identical, so if published as is, that would create problems with SEO.
Also, ChatGPT training data is only till 2021, so you would want to be careful about the latest developments.
And mind you, it will tell you so in relevant cases by itself. Like here:
As of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021, here are the storage limits for each platform’s free plan:
By the way, some of the same answers by Notion AI were better – both in terms of content and presentation.
And finally, some fun prompts
Yes, how could I let go of ChatGPT access without some fun prompts and jokes. Enjoy these:
ME: write me a birthday message in snape’s style
ChatGPT: Certainly, here’s a birthday message in Snape’s style:
“Potter, I understand it is your birthday today. I suppose congratulations are in order, although I fail to see why anyone would celebrate the passing of another year in their dreary existence. Nevertheless, I hope you have the decency to use this occasion to reflect upon your many failings and to consider ways in which you might improve upon them. Perhaps a more diligent application to your studies would be a good start, given your lamentable performance in my class. I trust that you will not let this opportunity for self-reflection go to waste. Happy birthday, if one can even call it that.”
ME: write me a birthday message for neville’s 18th birthday in snape’s style
ChatGPT: Here’s a birthday message in Snape’s style for Neville’s 18th birthday:
“Longbottom, I have been made aware that today is your 18th birthday, and therefore a day that some might consider significant. While I fail to see the relevance of this particular milestone, I suppose it’s worth noting that you have managed to survive to adulthood despite your many deficiencies. Perhaps this is something to be commended, given your propensity for breaking rules and generally making a mess of things.
However, let us not forget that mere survival is not an accomplishment in itself. If you wish to be truly worthy of celebration, you must learn to master your own weaknesses and rise above them. I suggest that you start by practicing more diligently in my class, lest you embarrass yourself and the Hogwarts name any further. In any case, happy 18th birthday, if one can even call it that.”
ME: write me a mc gonagall joke
ChatGPT: Sure, here’s a McGonagall joke for you:
Why did Professor McGonagall refuse to fly on a broomstick for so many years?
Because she was afraid of getting whisker burns! (Get it? McGonagall is a cat animagus, so she has whiskers!)
ME: write me a leo tolstoy joke
ChatGPT: Sure, here’s a Leo Tolstoy joke for you:
Why did Leo Tolstoy always carry a ruler with him?
Because he was a great ruler of characters and plots!
I hope you enjoyed these. But if you have to explain the joke, the whole point is lost, right?
And then some scary ones too
ME: write me a couplet in gulzar’s style
ChatGPT: Sure, here’s a couplet in the style of Gulzar:
Chand ke bina andhera hai zindagi ka,
Khwabon ki ujli duniya mein hai tanha sa safar.
Translation:
Life is darkness without the moon,
A solitary journey in a world of bright dreams.
Gulzar is known for his evocative and lyrical style of poetry, often using simple and everyday language to convey profound emotions and experiences. He often draws inspiration from nature and the beauty of the natural world, as well as from everyday moments of human life.
It’s scary for someone who has read or heard Gulzaar Saa’b because it’s bang on target. It could very much have come from his pen. The reference to chand (moon) and khwab (dreams) and raat (night)! And the unusual sentence construction.
The final verdict (as if it matters😉)
I would sum up my experience thus:
- Good for generating marketing content: I gave many more prompts than I showed you here. Even email sequences and landing pages!! I think the reason is, there is lots of marketing material available on the Internet and hence the accuracy of training.
- Learning must be under adult supervision: If you are trying to get help for understanding a lesson or doing homework, be honest about it and do it under supervision. Someone who can judge whether the answers are right or wrong. Because the idea is to learn. And that too correctly.
- Intelligence is still, well, artificial: Besides the jokes I had also given prompts for writing scenes involving Rohit Shetty. And let me tell you, they were far from hilarious or witty. Maybe a lack of training data? Only time and next versions of ChatGPT will tell.
- A bit scary too: Yes, the couplet got me thinking. If ChatGPT can copy the maestros so well (I have seen online examples of Ernest Hemingway, Gary Halbert, etc.), how do we differentiate? Are we moving into a future where do we even need that differentiation any more? I am reminded of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, but in a reverse way. Only those who love writing will continue to write. Maybe that’s a good thing.
So the million dollar question is, will I use it in future?
Yes I will, but with lots of caution. And I will surely keep an eye out for the next releases of ChatGPT.
