How ChatGPT Changes Our Life?

ChatGPT has been under the spotlight in recent times, garnering significant attention from people across the world. In this article, I will share with you how ChatGPT changes my daily workflow, and pose open questions for further discussion.

Let me start with the main ways I use ChatGPT to improve productivity.

1. Code/debugging

I ask ChatGPT for coding problems in the same way as I do on Google. In most cases, it can solve my problem more efficiently than Google, with explanations in plain English and code demonstration. But there could be exceptions. Sometimes when I input an error message, it responds with a bunch of informative/explanatory content that doesn’t solve the problem, whereas similar cases and corresponding answers can be found on Stack Overflow.

2. Writing emails

Usually I provide the main content/keywords, then ChatGPT could return a complete email with subject. I can make further modifications as needed (just minor stuffs). It’s a lifesaver for people like me who struggle with writing email subjects.

3. Paraphrasing/summarizing (academic) papers

I just copy and paste the corresponding section and ask ChatGPT to paraphrase / rewrite / summarize it for me. Or sometimes I provide the title of a journal article and let it to summarize. Until now, I’ve only used it to the extent of input existing literature, never anything related to my own paper. I’m just afraid of being treated as part of the training set.

4. Bing searches

Ever since I learned that ChatGPT can make up fictional papers with real journal names and authors in the field, I’ve become acutely aware that fact-checking is essential. New Bing is great that it provides direct links to references!

Several open questions remain regarding the impact of ChatGPT and how we can better utilize it. Comments and discussions are highly welcomed!

1. Impact on academia

I’ve heard two different opinions. Some believe that GPT4’s advancements in NLP pose a challenge to scholars working with small models and datasets, as it is such a high benchmark. While others argue that ChatGPT’s progress is primarily due to resource stacking and lacks novelty. From my perspectives, there are always more work to be done. Huge dataset and super computing power may not be our edge, but think it differently, how can we reduce the model parameters to 1% of its current size while maintaining same performance? Besides, researchers or PhDs in NLP are never useless (just think about how many engineers in OpenAI held a PhD). Despite that each of us as an individual may make limited contribution, the collective efforts are what lead us to now.

2. Impact on industry

I feel there are significant first-mover advantages and economies of scale in this field. Good products attract more users, leading to more human interaction and feedback, further, better products. These characteristics naturally increase the risk of a monopoly market, similar to Google’s dominance in search engines. If we will live in a world with few dominant corporations providing essential goods and services to everyone, what can we do to avoid information silos, and ensure information/data security at both individual and even national level? Probably we need more regulation. Then the question becomes, what would be the optimal regulation?

3. Opportunities in the AI era

With the support of AI, there is potential to significantly improve productivity and efficiency. It is worthwhile to consider how to effectively collaborate with AI in order to leverage the comparative advantages of both humans and machines. For instance, tasks such as information collection and standardized tasks could potentially be outsourced to AI and robots, while humans could focus on more creative or supervisory roles. Equally important, how we should plan our careers in a world increasingly dominated by AI? The willingness to continually learn and grow is always the key to thrive in a rapidly-changing market.

P.S. I haven’t had a chance to experience the newly released GPT4 or Copilot yet. I welcome suggestions on whether Upgrade to Plus is a worthwhile decision.

Disclaimer: This post is written with the help of ChatGPT. More specifically, I asked ChatGPT to translate the Chinese version into English. Then I made modifications myself, had ChatGPT to polish and elaborate on certain issues. The final check is done by myself, and all errors remain mine.