Practical AI Chat Ideas

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Practical AI Chat Ideas

Have you tried AI Chat yet?

Most of the time you have to jump through permission surveillance hoops (Chat GPT, Bard, Bing's chat and so on).

For right now, there is one I like a lot called Perplexity.

Perplexity

It seems to me to be the least invasive of all of them. And it's less involved in controlling narratives, at least so far.

 

Anyway, the idea of this new thread here on OL is to show tips on how you can use an AI Chat program to find or do things that would otherwise take you a long time with search engines and other normal research avenues.

Back when I was a translator, I was a stickler for spelling out acronyms. Outside of my distaste when snoots use them  , abuse of acronyms is the first stage in obfuscating messages and intentions. I like things to be clear.

So when I came across the following X post (former Tweet) today, I cringed:

I was thinking about fiction writing and normal politics when I came across that X post. I was not thinking about the economics world. Rather than skim this over, though, and kind of fake it through or just ignore it, I decided to get thorough.

I went to Perplexity and asked the following, with the following answer:

Quote

Question:

I just saw this phrase in a social media post. "EY rejects TPG plan to break up Big Four firm: FT"

What does EY mean? What does TPG mean? What is the Big Four firm? What does FT mean?

Answer:

- EY stands for Ernst & Young, which is one of the Big Four accounting firms[3].
- TPG is a private equity firm that has approached EY about buying a stake in its consulting arm[4][5].
- The Big Four refers to the four largest accounting firms in the world, which are EY, Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC[6]. They are known for providing a wide range of professional services, including auditing, tax, and consulting.
- FT stands for Financial Times, which is a British daily newspaper that covers business and financial news[1][3][4].

Citations:
[1] https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/tpg-dangles-messy-end-eys-loveless-marriage-2023-08-16/
[2] https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/ey-could-revive-break-up-plan-as-tpg-eyes-stake-20230815
[3] https://www.ft.com/content/41cc3968-0bcb-4300-82a8-22f1b9bdb838
[4] https://www.ft.com/content/b12f8d4f-0cd6-4745-88dc-3a7c99a05a71
[5] https://ground.news/article/tpg-approaches-ey-about-buying-stake-in-consulting-arm-ft
[6] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/mar/16/frc-inquiry-big-four-accountancy-kpmg-deloitte-pwc-ey

Two things to note:

1. Perplexity provides sources.

2. All AI Chat answers are in the Public Domain.

I was not satisfied with that answer, though. If fudged over TPG.

When you ask a question on Perplexity (and all AI Chat programs for that matter), it opens a thread. You can keep asking questions and, in that thread, it will use the previous questions as a filtering context. That way you do not have to repeat things in order to dig down.

So I asked the following (with Perplexity's answer) in that same thread:

Quote

Question:

What does the acronym TPG stand for?

Answer:

TPG stands for Texas Pacific Group, which is an American private equity firm based in Fort Worth, Texas[1][2]. It was previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital[1]. TPG focuses on leveraged buyouts and growth capital and manages investment funds in various areas, including growth capital, venture capital, public equity, and debt investments[1][3]. The firm invests in a range of industries, such as consumer/retail, media and telecommunications, industrials, technology, travel, leisure, and healthcare[1]. TPG has a significant presence in the alternative asset space and manages assets worth billions of dollars[3][4].

Citations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TPG_Inc.
[2] https://www.wikiwand.com/en/TPG_Inc.
[3] https://www.tpg.com/about-us/
[4] https://www.tpg.com
[5] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/private-equity-firm-tpg-is-going-public-5-things-to-know-ahead-of-its-ipo-11639761895
[6] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/private-equity-firm-tpg-finally-goes-public-in-1-billion-deal-11642081188

Done and done.

That took me all of a couple of minutes.

Before, I would have been crawling through ads and irrelevant content using several queries before I got the acronym information  I wanted, much less all of that other stuff. It would have taken me a half an hour or so.

 

Note, when you query an AI Chat, you have to remember it does not reflect reality, but instead a vast survey and scan of what other people post on the Internet and a reshuffling of fragments. So you need to formulate your questions with that in mind.

For example, this is a poor query. "I am in debt. How to I get out of it?" Or, "I want to invent a new art form. Help me figure this out."

The first is way too vague. And for the second, the best you are going to get is some musing from other people. Or worse, musings from other people chopped up and cobbled together. AI does not figure out new stuff. It only gives out what is put into it. Granted, it "learns" new data, but does not figure out new un-thought-of concepts and processes. It can't by its very nature.

 

The best advice I have gotten on making queries to AI Chat programs is to provide context, then be specific about what you want. 

I have another thought on this, but I will make another post about it.

 

Have fun with this AI Chat stuff.

I sure am.

Well... maybe not as much as I could. I'm not dazzled into going apeshit over it. 

But it comes in handy when I need it.

 

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

This video could help you save lots of time and frustration with AI Chat programs. I saw this awhile back and it is still better than the other stuff I have looked at for laying a foundation.

ChatGPT is in the title, but this applies to all AI Chat programs.

 

I Discovered The Perfect ChatGPT Prompt Formula

 

In this guy's idea, you provide four elements in a prompt to get the best results.

1. Context
2. The specific information you want
3. Your intent or goal
4. The content format you want the answer to be in

I know this works. I have gotten very good results with this when I want something specific (like what different neurons do and things like that).

Just think of the information about Rand's ideas you can get with this. You will have to check everything, but what a timesaver.

 

Also, in the video description is some of the best prompt advice I have come across.

It's quoted below:

Quote

Let me share 7 best practices when it comes to effective prompt engineering. Then I will give you the formula and show you real life examples.

1 - Be Specific: If you ask a vague question, you may get a vague answer. The more details you provide, the better the model can give you what you're looking for. Instead of "tell me about all dog breeds that exist,” ask "What are the different breeds of small dogs suitable for apartment living?"

2 - State Your Intent: If there's a specific purpose for your question, state it in the prompt. For example, instead of asking “explain quantum physics” you could say "I'm helping my fifth-grade son with his science homework. Could you explain quantum physics in a simple way?"

3 - Use Correct Spelling and Grammar: While the model can often interpret and correct spelling and grammar mistakes, providing clear and correct prompts helps ensure you get the best response.

4 - Direct the Output Format: If you want the answer in a specific format, state it in your question. For example, you could ask "Could you list the steps to bake a chocolate cake?" or "Could you explain the process of baking a chocolate cake in a paragraph?"

5 - Ask Follow-Up Questions: If the response wasn't what you expected or if you need more information, feel free to ask follow-up questions to clarify.

6 - Experiment with Different Phrasings: If you're not getting the response you want, try asking the question in a different way. The model might understand one phrasing better than another.

7 - Prompt for Fact-Checking: If you're looking for reliable information, you can ask the model to provide sources or to fact-check information. For example, "Can you fact-check this statement: The tallest mountain in the world is Mount Everest?"

Go there and read the rest of the description.

It's well worth it.

 

If you get this down, you will be well ahead of most people who use AI Chat programs.

And you will become part of an insider elite. The heavens will open to you. Untold riches will fall upon you. Your life will become a series of legends. People you lust after will throw themselves at your feet. Your legacy will bestow major boons to humankinid. Songs will celebrate you.

 

In other words, have fun.

 

Michael