this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2023
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Yes, it is useful. I use ChatGPT heavily for:
Brainstorming meal plans for the week given x, y, and z requirements
Brainstorming solutions to abstract problems
Helping me break down complex tasks into smaller, more achievable tasks.
Helping me brainstorm programming solutions. This is a big one, I'm a junior dev and I sometimes encounter problems that aren't easily google-able. For example, ChatGPT helped me find the python moto library for intercepting and testing the boto AWS calls in my code. It's also been great for debugging hand-coded JSON and generating boilerplate. I've also used it to streamline unit test writing and documentation.
By far it's best utility (imo) is quickly filling in broad strokes knowledge gaps as a kind of interactive textbook. I'm using it to accelerate my Rust learning, and it's great. I have EMT co-workers going to paramedic school that use it to practice their paramedic curriculum. A close second in terms of usefulness is that it's like the world's smartest regex, and it's capable of very quickly parsing large texts or documents and providing useful output.
The brainstorming is where its at. Telling ChatGPT to just do something is boring. Chatting with it about your problem and having a conversation about the issue you're having? Hell yes.
I'm a dungeon master and I use it for help world building and its exceptional.
I actually think that ChatGPT could eventually become the way to play tabletop RPGs. It's not quite there yet, though. It's not the most creative writer, still often has internal consistency flaws, and of course it would have to be trained specifically on the rules of the RPG you're playing. But once it has been, it could probably act as a DM for groups that lack one. Or as a very closely coupled assistant to less experienced DMs who may need hand holding. It could even likely replace players, which could be useful for solo players who can't find a group (or, say, have incompatible scheduling).
Unlike a regular video game, the format of tabletop RPGs seems perfect for our current rudimentary AIs and the constraints are ones that they can probably handle with careful training alone. It's also a useful niche since there's no replacing the open endedness of tabletop RPGs with current technology. There's also a lot of people out there that I'm sure would like to play tabletop RPGs but just lack a group. Anyone who's played them before knows that scheduling is really hard and has killed a lot of groups. That's something an AI could help with.
Oh that sounds neat. Can you give some examples of your process and results?
Honestly, not really. It's a communication thing with the bot. Just talk to it like a person. Say what you want to do and what ideas you have, then ask if ChatGPT has any suggestions. Keep talking. It'll recommend ideas and you can tweak them or ignore them.
When talking about code though I've come to notice that it will happily follow the corrections you tell it whether they are right or wrong. That's not all that helpful but it can still give you ideas about how to solve your problem with a bit of basic knowledge of the topic you're dealing with.
This. ChatGPT strength is super specific answers of things or broad strokes. I use it for programming and I always use it for “how can I do XYZ” or “write me a function using X library to do Y with Z documentation”. It’s more useful for automating the busy work