Did you buy a 3D TV? It's about the same usefulness.
Ask HN: I don't use AI. What exactly am I missing out on?
41–50 of 62 posts
Re: Ask HN: I don't use AI. What exactly am I missing out on?
#42[flagged]
Thanks GPT
Re: Ask HN: I don't use AI. What exactly am I missing out on?
#43[flagged]
This reads like it was written by an AI, the structure seems dead on: concede the basis of the question while restating it, but offer a list of pros written out with similar sentence structure then have a wrap up sentence.
Re: Ask HN: I don't use AI. What exactly am I missing out on?
#44I still use ~Google~ Kagi for some searches (people, addresses, items to buy), but ChatGPT is a very different tool for me, and is a regular part of my life now. Some examples. - My kid's sports schedule is in a table on the school's site. Paste it into chatgpt, give it a few handling rules, and ask for the contents of an .ics file back. Now I have everything in my calendar. - A job posting looked interesting but I c…
Tried the ics trick ChatGPT tells me it cannot read or write files
I asked it for the file contents and copied those into a file manually.
Re: Ask HN: I don't use AI. What exactly am I missing out on?
#453 months without using a programing language, and I forget 70% of its syntax. A bit embarrassing to admit, but to me it helps with that, really simple things that I forgot because I don't use them frequently enough.
Sometimes I also use it to ask about a topic that I don't know about, and take its output as a starting point to dig deeper.
Re: Ask HN: I don't use AI. What exactly am I missing out on?
#46i work with cursor.sh and it's honestly an amazing workflow. i am _thoroughly_ impressed with how much quicker i can churn out mindless code that would add time and googling even though i theoretically know how to do it
Re: Ask HN: I don't use AI. What exactly am I missing out on?
#47I am a bit of a greybeard around new tools, and even today my usage of ChatGPT is limited, so I will give my 2c. You're right, in most cases, Google + Github search is faster to achieve a certain task vs typing out your problem and waiting for ChatGPT to generate results (personal opinion). Nonetheless, here are a few things where ChatGPT saves a lot of time: 1. Generating config files: Eg, Webpack, Docker-compose. D…
> 3. Solving problems when you're stuck: When I feel stuck with a problem or an error message, ChatGPT has proven to be an invaluable resource. Even when the answer it gave was wrong, a little hint in there was enough for me to find the solution I needed.
> 4. Generating functions you're too lazy to write: Often, you know how to write a function but you're too damn lazy to write it. Eg, use axios, go to this URL, get the contents and write it to CSV. Writing a function to do this feels like a chore. ChatGPT is a helpful assistant in this case.
A friend swears by it and has whole single-page sites written by chatGPT in his internal lab.
Just to test your point, I've asked ChatGPT to write a VBScript function that returns false if the input is true and false if the input is false.
It wrote a seven-line function testing true, false and otherwise (clever, testing for null).
I would have just written a function to return false - one line that covers all conditions, including null. There is no testing, so it uses fewer CPU cycles.
So that's my rational: yes it can be used but don't just take the results at face value.
Re: Ask HN: I don't use AI. What exactly am I missing out on?
#48Unlike Google, ChatGPT allows me to use the process of elimination when searching for solutions. Recently, I encountered a technical problem and turned to Google first. While the initial search results offered a common solution that matched my symptom, it turned out not to be the root cause of my issue. Despite browsing through several pages, the top results continued to point to the same popular solution, suggesting my problem was uncommon.
Turning to ChatGPT, I encountered a similar initial response, suggesting the same popular solution that didn't apply to my case. However, I was able to communicate that this solution wasn't the right fit, prompting ChatGPT to suggest another possibilities. The third suggestion from ChatGPT finally hit the mark, identifying the right issue and offering a solution.
ChatGPT's interactive nature makes it akin to an interactive search engine, allowing me to refine my search by ruling out common results. Google, on the other hand, lacks this capability, making ChatGPT a valuable tool.
Re: Ask HN: I don't use AI. What exactly am I missing out on?
#49I don't use it personally, but I have a junior dev that uses it like a crutch. Unfortunately I have to review his code, and it's hard to be actually constructive when I can tell he's just using copilot to phone it in.
Re: Ask HN: I don't use AI. What exactly am I missing out on?
#50I am a bit of a greybeard around new tools, and even today my usage of ChatGPT is limited, so I will give my 2c. You're right, in most cases, Google + Github search is faster to achieve a certain task vs typing out your problem and waiting for ChatGPT to generate results (personal opinion). Nonetheless, here are a few things where ChatGPT saves a lot of time: 1. Generating config files: Eg, Webpack, Docker-compose. D…
> 3. Solving problems when you're stuck: When I feel stuck with a problem or an error message, ChatGPT has proven to be an invaluable resource. Even when the answer it gave was wrong, a little hint in there was enough for me to find the solution I needed. > 4. Generating functions you're too lazy to write: Often, you know how to write a function but you're too damn lazy to write it. Eg, use axios, go to this URL, get…
>> I've asked ChatGPT to write a VBScript function that returns false if the input is true and false if the input is false.
You purposefully asked GPT a trick question for which it likely has very little training data. No one would ever go on StackExchange et al. asking how to write a function that always returns false. So GPT had to take its training data on other, realistic questions and fumble something together.
A GPT can only ever be as good as its initial training material. It can not have new ideas or innovations.
There was an excellent post here a couple of days ago to an article, which explains quite well what a GPT can and can not do and why:
https://explainextended.com/2023/12/31/happy-new-year-15/
EDIT. GPT4 was happy to give me a one-liner that meets the conditions and even explains why my request was dumb:
https://chat.openai.com/share/1d949b5b-3c2b-4634-802e-3ea4c2...