1Q2023 – AIn’t (Quite) Ready for Prime Time
Please excuse the delay in this quarterly newsletter, I was watching Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon…get canned. Too soon? Don’t worry, this quarter’s post isn’t about the rise and fall of the prime time television elite: it’s about the rise of AI tools in our everyday life. In a flash of brilliance (or laziness), I decided to let ChatGPT, the most popular large language model/AI, write this quarter’s newsletter. After about 10 iterations, I gave up.
If you haven’t used ChatGPT, it’s a lot like asking a smart friend to answer your questions in any way you want. Want them to write a cover letter in Spanish? ¡Por supuesto! Want to apologize in latin for killing someone’s plant while they were away? Non forsit (apologies to the linguists reading this). But want them to write you something (accurate) on current events or finance? You may need to wait awhile.
For example, when prompted to write a “somewhat witty, 600 word post on the market and economy in the 1st quarter of this year”, the post falsely included as “…[T]he stock market has continued its upward trend, with the s&p500 and the Nasdaq both hitting record highs in March.” In case you missed your recent financial statement, they did not. Or that “investors are optimistic about [other things] and the continued stimulus efforts by the Federal Reserve.” As i’ve said many times, I’m not an economist but I’m pretty sure that hiking interest rates nine consecutive times would not be considered stimulating the economy. And don’t get me started on their definition of witty. (Maybe I’m the one who doesn’t get that part?). As one would tell a smart friend, I let them know the markets did not in fact hit new highs and that was incorrect and to try again. It apologized for the error, which of course made me feel better, but stated in the second paragraph that the Nasdaq had hit new highs. It did not.
Like many of you, I have mixed feelings about the future of AI, its applications and dangers. I think it will revolutionize how we work, communicate and maybe even invest. Fortunately for me though, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be taking my job any time soon.