Ask HN: What AI tools do you use to boost productivity? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What AI tools do you use to boost productivity?

#31

Post by ilaksh » Tue, Jul 25, 2023, 7:18 PM UTC

ChatGPT (4) is great to get ideas for programming problems. As far as actual usable code, it's hit and miss, usually not quite right. But especially for things like CSS or anything I have not used much, it definitely helps me at least get started or explore approaches to problems.

I put something like "tree of thoughts" in my Custom Instructions setting and now it holds little meetings with itself before finalizing code suggestions. Don't have the prompt on my phone but search for "Lucidate tree of thoughts" on YouTube and then modify that slightly for software engineering.

Re: Ask HN: What AI tools do you use to boost productivity?

#32

Post by itamarcode » Tue, Jul 25, 2023, 7:30 PM UTC

CodiumAI [0], helps me generate meaningful test suites and code suggestions. This is exactly what I need to enable me to code fast with confidence. Really, just try it, and let me know if you are not positively surprised. [0] https://codium.ai/

Re: Ask HN: What AI tools do you use to boost productivity?

#33

Post by shortrounddev2 » Tue, Jul 25, 2023, 7:46 PM UTC

I use Chat GPT basically in lieu of google for programming questions now, with the caveat that you need to check its work. It's good at skimming through documentation, but I don't trust it to really write code. For newer things I use bing chat since it has access to more current information.

Re: Ask HN: What AI tools do you use to boost productivity?

#34

Post by stcroixx » Tue, Jul 25, 2023, 8:43 PM UTC

fortyseven wrote: post #27

"I don't." Gotta make sure we know how cool and trend-bucking you are in a thread asking those who do use them. It's like going into a Mac thread and letting us know you don't use Apple stuff. That super neato for you, but it's not particularly helpful.

If I’m considering making a tool for a particular community and they tell me they’re not interested in it, that’s more than just helpful for me to know.

Re: Ask HN: What AI tools do you use to boost productivity?

#35

Post by hn30000 » Tue, Jul 25, 2023, 11:28 PM UTC

I use chatgpt to write really boilerplate businessy emails (“this invoice was due a month ago” type stuff). Don’t use it for anything coding related.

Re: Ask HN: What AI tools do you use to boost productivity?

#36

Post by DettolMichael » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 2:35 AM UTC

The AI tool that I currently use the most is ChatGPT, which helps me systematically organize complex results from multiple Google searches. Much of my work involves text editing, so I am truly looking forward to an AI all-in-one reading and writing tool.

Re: Ask HN: What AI tools do you use to boost productivity?

#37

Post by watsaywat » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 4:33 AM UTC

ChatGPT and GitHub copilot have changed my life. I ask ChatGPT what's the next domain/area that is ripe for disruption. ChatGPT is very smart, it replies instantly. I then instruct copilot to go code me a MVP for this chosen area. Copilot isnt as fast as ChatGPT, but it does deliver. By the time I go out, watch some movies, then take a walk on the beach and am back, the MVP is ready and I unleash it on VCs who shower me with money. And now with the newly introduced FedNow money transfer facility, I get the money instantly.

Before ChatGPT and copilot, I could hardly go out for movies during the day. And beach? Only during weekends :(

Re: Ask HN: What AI tools do you use to boost productivity?

#38

Post by nicbou » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 8:13 AM UTC

sBqQu3U0wH wrote: post #12

None, because I am not a productivity-obsessed drone. From what I've tried, Github Copilot is pretty good, but it's often more disruptive than helpful, therefore I do not use it on a daily basis.

You can consider tools that are helpful to you without obsessing about productivity.

ChatGPT can give you quick answers better than SEO-infested search results.

This preserves your energy for any purpose you see fit, not just productivity.

Re: Ask HN: What AI tools do you use to boost productivity?

#39

Post by PoignardAzur » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 9:05 AM UTC

afpx wrote: post #17

PoignardAzur wrote: post #9

I use ChatGPT to get started, or as a rubber duck. I use Copilot when I'm coding.

I’ve been rubber ducking things since 1999. Kinda like LLM’s “think step by step”.

Look, I've tried to rubber duck, I've really tried, but I just can't do it when it's an inanimate object. It's either a living person or ChatGPT.

Re: Ask HN: What AI tools do you use to boost productivity?

#40

Post by browningstreet » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 1:41 PM UTC

I use all three major AI platforms daily for content classification, summarization and generation. In a similar vein as “X company uses AI to write content and fires writers”. Except I’m the writer. And there’s two of us. And we never had other writers so no one’s getting fired. And if our project takes off we will have to hire more.

Writing and rewriting and re-targeting and ideation are very much helped by AI.

That said, the plethora of AI baked tooling isn’t that helpful yet. Wrappers around the APIs are helpful… most of the other apps that promise more are pretty bad and make AI look bad.

Tools that help manage prompts and iterate on those have been most helpful.

The one I use the most is Text Generator in Obsidian.