This post is longer, more compehensive version of my LinkedIn post.
🔴 Not only will it mislead you, but it will be blatantly lying 🔴
tl;dr - my 2-week experience with with chatGPT.
⭐ Let's start with something positive that amazed me: writing emails and correcting texts.
Honestly, I hate writing emails.
It gives me physical pain every time I need to communicate via email instead of slack or I need to produce more "public" documentation.
But email communication exist, so I need to deal with it.
My "formal" or "semi-formal" English got stuck at school level, and only Grammarly is my relief (I love it with all my heart ❤️, even this post is checked. Grammarly folks, you do great job).
So, of course, I wanted to see what if I copy-pasted bullet points with basic info and sprinkled them with a recipe from Alan D. Thompson's "ChatGPT Prompt Book".
Emails perfectly written by ChatGPT
According to the book I can prompt like that: "Respond to email diplomatically and comprehensively".
💡 The prompt should be prescriptive: tell, don’t ask.
💡 The prompt shouldn't be complex
Send a semi-formal email to a co-worker about
- weekly meeting
- next Friday
Remind him to prepare a 10-minute presentation
summarizing the DB migration process.
result (original spelling):
Subject: Weekly Meeting on Friday - Reminder to Prepare Presentation
Dear [Co-worker's Name],
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to remind you of the
weekly meeting that is scheduled for next Friday, [Date]. As discussed
in our previous meeting, you are expected to give a 10-minute
presentation summarizing the database migration process. I believe
your insights on this topic will be valuable to the rest of the team.Please make sure to prepare your presentation in advance to ensure a
smooth and efficient meeting. If you need any assistance or have any
questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing
your presentation next week.Best regards,
[Your Name]
or
Write a formal to Manager with request to attend a conference.
- CraftConf Annual Conference, 18-19 May, Budapest, Hungary
- relevant to current tasks and position
- industry experts speakers
- ask to cover costs: ticket, travel expenses, hotel
result (original spelling):
Subject: Request to Attend the CraftConf Annual Conference
Dear [Manager's Name],
I am writing to request your approval to attend the CraftConf Annual
Conference, which will be held in Budapest, Hungary from May 18-19, 2023. I believe this conference will provide valuable insights and updates on the latest trends and practices in our industry.As you know, my current role and responsibilities involve [briefly
describe your current tasks and position]. Based on the conference
program, I am confident that attending the CraftConf Annual Conference
will provide me with new skills, knowledge, and innovative ideas that
I can apply to my work and share with the team. The conference
features several renowned industry experts as speakers, which will
offer an excellent opportunity to network and learn from their
experiences.I would like to request that the company cover the costs associated
with attending the conference, including the ticket, travel expenses,
and accommodation. I assure you that I will attend the conference with
a keen focus and will make the most of the learning opportunities
presented.Thank you for considering my request. I look forward to hearing from
you soon.Sincerely,
[Your Name]
✨ MAGIC ✨
The pain of my existence — grueling emails — is gone.
In general. Because I still need to add the final touch.
<joke> My perfect sign offs like: "Yours unfaithfully" & "Slay Serve Survive"</joke>
Somebody asked for ✨ Beautiful ✨ technical documentation?
Here you are; just first write it in your style, then ask chat to fix your mistakes, and ask for suggestions - how to bring it to the next level.
As a non-English speaker, I love this experience.
I see it and appreciate all the possibilities coming with chatGPT, which I'm still exploring.
BUT (there is a huge "BUT")
👉 I tried to use chatGPT instead of search.
I'm sure you hear about it:
"ChatGPT better than Google"
So, I asked Chat for advice. And it failed me miserably and...
unexpectedly.
I had to check how to export part of the AWS DynamoDB table to S3. I have some assumptions and conclusions. Why not ask Chat, when maybe it could provide me with something I overlooked?
ChatGPT has knowledge limited to 2021, but that is enough to "scan" and provide me answers from AWS documentation (which its not fun to read, not particularly human-friendly).
Yes, it did, but the answer to 2 technical questions included
- 👉 2 lies (3 in context)
- 👉 deprecated method (which "she" was aware of; btw, yes, I did name my chat Pythia* - perhaps too early).
1️⃣ Firstly, Chat suggested that I could go to DynamoDB and "Export to S3" and just select the secondary index 😏
What you need to know (if you're not AWS user), that there's no such option in AWS as exporting the DynamoDB table partially, and there never was.
2️⃣ Secondly, it suggested that I should use AWS Data Pipeline (which is going to be deprecated soon and absolutely ❌ NOT ❌ recommended to use in 2023).
3️⃣ Again, when I directly asked about AWS glue, but chat suggested the same mid-step: Export to S3 by secondary index.
4️⃣ Then, Chat admitted it was a mistake and tried to convince me that I can do this by primary index — I need to repeat: DynamoDB export does not support export tables partially. DOT.
Chat suggests deprecated AWS Data Pipelines:
Chat suggests non-existing Export a table partially from DynamoDB to S3?
I don't even know what to call it. Simplification?
Chat proposes some non-existent features that are, in fact, highly misleading.
When you point out, it turns out that chat knows from the beginning. Why doesn't it suggest the correct answer from the beginning?
Earlier, I did my research, and I read the AWS documentation, but if I used the chat as a general overview of the possibilities, e.g. as a helper in my estimation, I could greatly miscalculate.
Shouldn't I be doing that? Nobody should?
Oh, 🦌... LinkedIn, tech portals rave about how amazingly chat allows non-technical people to understand the degrees of tech difficulty 😜
Although it won't replace specialists, it could help, for example, in ESTIMATING the scope of technical tasks.
Estimation based on GPT, sounds wonderful!
Yes, well... NO
It's just that such an underestimated task is unrealistic in its implementation because Chat lied about technical "details".
Contrary to media hype, we are obligated to warn decision-makers that a convenient tool is unreliable. At least, not yet.
We are at the threshold of an era when AI will become an everyday tool. Let's use it consciously, because chat "consciously" lies us.
- Pythia - in Greek mythology, the priestess of the Delphic Oracle
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