If tell an AI tool like ChatGPT what you want, it’s going to try to get you what you asked for — even if what you asked for doesn’t exist. This is confirmation bias, and it’s a big problem for one of the best uses for LLMs: research. Tools like ChatGPT enormously speed up research…
I’m a writer who uses AI to help. I’d never let AI write for me (I’m too proud, it writes boring prose, and it makes mistakes). But there are still times when a tool like ChatGPT can do things that would be much harder any other way — especially on rote, tedious research tasks. Turning…
The legal future of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and nearly every other large language model (LLM) depends on one question: when a large language model “reads” and “learns” from copyrighted content, is that action protected by the Fair Use provisions of copyright law? Vendors of LLMs insist that training their products on the open web is no…
Use ChatGPT to close more leads! Use ChatGPT to write more blog posts! Umm, no. Here are some clickbait headlines that, if you see them, you should immediately stop following the source: Creating makes us human ChatGPT and similar tools are good helpers. They can read and summarize vast amounts of information. ChatGPT is good…
Newsletter 49. Why STEM education is about mind exercise, not job training. Plus, why AI is fair turnabout for journalists, ChatGPT is a bullshitter, and the Stanford Internet Observatory stops tracking the spread of lies. Plus, three people to follow and three books to read. Training thinkers For more than a decade, people have been…
OpenAI says it has proof that it didn’t steal Scarlett Johansson’s voice. Does that make it an honest company? OpenAI defends its actions Scarlett Johansson claimed OpenAI solicited her to train its latest AI, then released a voice called “Sky” that sounded just like her. Open AI says no, they didn’t use her voice, and…
AI tools like Anthropic, ChatGPT, and Perplexity generate text intended to mimic human writing. They’re pretty good writers. But they write with telltale signs that they’re not human; you might say they write with an “accent.” Any native speaker can tell when another speaker’s first language doesn’t match the one he’s speaking. If you’re speaking…
I’d never use ChatGPT to write for me: it’s both boring and unreliable. But that said, it’s still quite useful, especially as a replacement for search (I’m using ChatGPT-4, which integrates with Microsoft Bing including up-to-date content.) The research method is simple: ask ChatGPT to find things, then check the source it finds to see…
Take a close look at what has happened in the last few months and at OpenAI, in the last few days. The Hollywood writers and actors went on strike, and the entertainment industry companies were forced to yield to their demands. Because without writers or actors, there is no entertainment. Movie theaters, streaming services, and…