ChatGPT

I fucking love ChatGPT.

I’m trying to figure out how I can use it most effectively. It’s got lots of flaws, there’s lots of stuff it can’t do, and there’s lots of stuff it does badly. Every tool has those limitations. Try to open a wine bottle with a sledgehammer. Try to start a car with a shoehorn. Try to turn a TV on with a blender.

But. If you have a corkscrew, you can open a bottle of wine. If you have a car’s key (or fob, or whatever) you can start it. If you have a remote control, you can turn on the TV.

ChatGPT is like a corkscrew. It can’t start your car, and it can open a bottle of undrinkable wine. Neither of which makes it a bad tool. If you do one of those things with it, you’re just using it unwisely. Ditto ChatGPT.

What I’m finding is that ChatGPT isn’t a good substitute for judgment or analysis. It is, though, a useful adjunct: it writes a shitty essay, but a useful first draft; a shitty paper, but a great outline. It can do action, but not beauty or emotion; plot, but not character development. See the following:

I wrote, “Write a blog post about the difference between jealousy, envy, and admiration in the first person, using personal examples.”

ChatGPT responded:

As a language model, I don’t have personal experiences, but I can still provide examples to illustrate the concepts.

Jealousy, envy, and admiration are three emotions that I have seen people experience in various situations. I have observed that these emotions are often confused with each other, but they are actually quite different.

Jealousy is an emotion that is characterized by feelings of insecurity, fear, and anger. For example, I have seen people become jealous when their partner starts spending more time with a close friend. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy, fear of losing the relationship, and even anger towards the friend or partner.

Envy, on the other hand, is characterized by feelings of resentment and covetousness. For instance, I have seen people who envy their friend’s success, such as a promotion at work or a new car. They might resent their friend’s good fortune and feel like they deserve it more.

Finally, admiration is an emotion characterized by feelings of respect and awe. I have seen people admire others for their skills, achievements, or qualities. For example, I have seen people admire a talented musician or an inspiring leader. In these cases, the admiration is genuine and comes from a place of respect and awe.

In conclusion, jealousy, envy, and admiration are all emotions that we experience, but they are different from each other in important ways. Understanding these differences can help us better understand our own emotions and the emotions of others. The next time you experience one of these emotions, take a moment to reflect on what is driving it and try to identify whether it is jealousy, envy, or admiration.

Now. That’s not good writing. It’s not brilliant analysis. But I’ll be damned if it’s not good enough for government work, as they used to say.

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