MY INTRODUCTION TO AI & ChatGPT

 My introduction to AI and ChatGPT: 

As a senior citizen, I can definitely say this -  I do belong to a special generation that has witnessed at least half a dozen decades, lived through two centuries, and bridged two different millennia, spanning the wave of technological revolutions. We have seen real changes in our lifetime and our generation has adapted remarkably to this change. In one of his podcasts, Anupam Kher, the famous Indian actor, also a senior citizen, observes, "Our childhood was analog but our adulthood is completely digital."

So in keeping with the times and not wanting to be left behind, I decided to explore the world of AI and ChatGPT. Here, I must acknowledge the effort of my daughters to ensure that I keep in step with new emerging technology, as far as practicable. To begin with, on their recommendation I attended a  webinar on  AI and  ChatGPT.

I am happy to declare that the resource person delivered exactly what he had posted - namely what AI tools were available, their purpose and how we may use them effectively. He asked us to look upon AI as a friendly digital intern. When  asked questions, it goes through all the information available on the net till that date, and provides answers in the way one needs or wants it. The resource person spoke clearly and confidently and his interactive class kept me engaged.

He introduced me to the mind boggling world of artificial intelligence. I also understood that it was an absolutely necessary tool for professionals today. However as I have retired from active service, I presumed it would be of little use to me. It would have helped if a variety of examples had been included for non professionals too. However, with time, I was able to discover interesting ways of using AI.

As a teacher I am sure it would have helped me immensely, in preparing my lesson plans and in making presentations. I could have used it in a variety of other ways, including finding a list of reference books or holiday reading and many such other activities. I might have also got access to various teaching paradigms and effective class management techniques and projects. 

It made me think of AI as a tool for propping up creativity, creatively! After this class, my respect for human intelligence has risen manifold. Today, I use AI in many different ways, always keeping in mind that one needs supplementary information to confirm or reject what it throws up. But it has helped me in putting thoughts and words in the proper perspective, given me choices to expand my research and suggested ways and means to use my time efficiently so I can lead a more fulfilling and happy life. 

"Just because you can ask something, doesn't mean you should!", warns Palki Sharma Upadhyay, journalist and news anchor. She lists five questions one should never ask AI and ChatGPT: questions which are deeply personal and sensitive in nature, questions related to therapy and medical conditions, those which maybe considered illegal or dangerous in nature, questions about conspiracy theories and definitely never those questions to be used for real human decisions.

My study helped me understand chat bots. I remember Alexa - the smart voice assistant made by Amazon!  I would ask her all kinds of questions just to hear her reply. One could call Alexa, a voice based chatbot. ChatGPT and other similar chat bots are text based and they include Claude, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity and Grok. They are designed for tasks like writing, coding, analysis and creative work - now, all a part of our daily lives. 

During my interactions with AI, I learnt that the best answers are generated by the best prompts. One can begin with assigning it a Role  - who do you want it to act like? Next it is important to specify the context and the task. It always helps to give a reason- what you want and why you want it. The final prompts could include in which format you need the answers and mentioning when to stop doing the task. 

On delving more, I came to know that using AI also comes with important environmental and ethical challenges. So we need to use AI responsibly. To conclude in Palki Sharma's words, "The question then is not what ChatGPT can do (it can do a lot!) but what you should do with ChatGPT!"


 

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