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Ask HN: How did ChatGPT4 blew your mind lately?

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Re: Ask HN: How did ChatGPT4 blew your mind lately?

#21
post #13

I see a lot of replies here talking about asking GPT questions in a domain an individual is an expert in, and being disappointed in the results. I think this is missing the point a bit. The impressive part of GPT isn’t that it’s an expert in anything, but that it’s better than an average human on many topics. For example - someone brought up GPT not comprehending homomorphic encryption fully. Well, I have a MS in CS…

I describe GPT as really good at bridging contexts. As you point out, it does a great job pointing you in the right direction on pretty much any topic. I was using it with my 7 yo daughter and asked it to explain calculus in a way a 7 yo could understand and it did a pretty good job.

I agree. I use it in research to discover solutions or fields I wasn't even aware that exist

Once discovered, I can go search more conventionally for more reputable sources

Re: Ask HN: How did ChatGPT4 blew your mind lately?

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GPT4 seems to do a better job with not making up references than GPT3.5. Don't check the DOIs though

Are those references just relevant sources, or actual citations? For my example I knew of the sources already. ChatGPT didn't make the connection

Sometimes either just relevant or actual citations, I've seen both. If you ask for specific citations for a specific phrase it's basically a coin flip what you get, what you get could be fake citations

Re: Ask HN: How did ChatGPT4 blew your mind lately?

#24
post #13

I see a lot of replies here talking about asking GPT questions in a domain an individual is an expert in, and being disappointed in the results. I think this is missing the point a bit. The impressive part of GPT isn’t that it’s an expert in anything, but that it’s better than an average human on many topics. For example - someone brought up GPT not comprehending homomorphic encryption fully. Well, I have a MS in CS…

If ChatGPT is impressive when discussing any subject, unless you’re an expert, it should be a journalist.

Okay, I know that sounds like a sleight but I mean it in reverse: we give it a hard time for failing at something humans can’t do either: be an expert at everything. Journalists do a great job despite regularly driving SMEs nuts.

I use it not for querying immutable truths but for exploring topics. It trivializes what used to be paralyzing for me: “where do I begin if I want to learn about X?”

Re: Ask HN: How did ChatGPT4 blew your mind lately?

#25
I've been automating some of our team's most menial tasks and since we're in a corporate environment we don't have control over what is and isn't installed on our servers, so using bash is the sane default choice.

None of the scripts it produced are incredible or whatever (the tasks being more menial than lohic-based), but considering the intricacies of bash and how often I just faceplant into them as an experienced sysadmin, if feel as though the ability to just say "write a script that compares a list of agents against every manager and outputs the ones not found anywhere" and have it output basically a working script first try is impressive.

Re: Ask HN: How did ChatGPT4 blew your mind lately?

#26
I recently used it (in combination with copilot) to help me implement weighted, blended, order-independent transparency for a network visualization project I'm working on... in just one long evening.

Only to realize in the process that all I really needed was to modify the shader program's depth checking behavior. Even just disabling it altogether looks fine and makes everything way faster. Never in my wildest imagination a year ago would I even dream of implementing WBOIT in one night and then just leaving it in a branch for a one line change.

In the process I realized a little trick on my own, using what I learned, that modifying the depth values in the fragment shader could allow selective alpha-blending/occlusion. Basically the idea was to put stuff I wanted to blend order-independently all at an equal z position and then set the depth function to "less than or equal" instead of "less than". I used the occluding geometry's depth buffer as a source to modify the translucent stuff's depth buffer in the fragment shader (with a slight offset to get it behind the occluding stuff).

There's absolutely no way I'd have had the guts to try all that in one night without the robot tools.

Re: Ask HN: How did ChatGPT4 blew your mind lately?

#27

I recently used it (in combination with copilot) to help me implement weighted, blended, order-independent transparency for a network visualization project I'm working on... in just one long evening. Only to realize in the process that all I really needed was to modify the shader program's depth checking behavior. Even just disabling it altogether looks fine and makes everything way faster. Never in my wildest imagin…

That’s what I’ve been using it for - unblocking my own mind. It almost never had the answer for me. But it breaks down my mental barrier. I’ve achieved more in the last three months than three years for this reason alone.

Re: Ask HN: How did ChatGPT4 blew your mind lately?

#28

Idk about “blow my mind” but I was surprised that it helped me figure out “the song at sporting events that goes “boom boom, ch”.” Maybe that’s an easy thing to know, but I expected to not get a good answer.

We will rock you?
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