Generative Ai (ChatGPT)

[Armchair supporter supremo]

On 29/04/2023 at 10:30, ben_the_beast said:

In my opinion the release of ChatGPT and the effective race it's triggered for all companies to dominate the world of AI is the biggest invention / product since the Internet. Its going to completely change the world, for everyone. 

In my line of work and small bubble it's all anyone is talking about, so posting in here to hear a cross section of opinions

- Have people heard of ChatGPT?

- Are you using it and if so what for / how regularly?

- Does it worry you, excite you, or both?

Personally I'm using it daily. I have to create a lot of learning / training in my line of work and can do it two or three times quicker with the use of ChatGPT. For anyone not aware of what it is here is a quick screenshot. I've only asked it to explain what it is / does in basic language. 

Heard of it (only because it's the latest trend that is being rammed into are eyes online) 

Not using it (haven't even had the inclination to casually explorexat a bit) 

Have no use for it, just more mind rotting society eroding shite that I'm happy living with. 

 

And in the end... As with all this stuff it will definitely be used to do fsr more harm than good. 

Edited June 17, 2023 by Armchair supporter supremo

[Armchair supporter supremo]

Jist briefly browsing through previous comments it seems its main use is to do peoples work for them because they're too lazy to use thier brain do it themselves 🤷 (seriously does nobody actually do a solid full weeks work anymore week in week out) 

[DE.]

Generally people are using it to help with tedious parts of the job that require a lot of time but little brainpower. By saving that time, it's then possible to allocate your resource to something more useful that an AI can't easily do. It's a bit like asking why Excel needs a SUM function when you can just add the numbers yourself. Repetitive tasks are ideally replaced so that there's more time to dedicate to complex tasks that aren't easily defined, rather than as an excuse to work less.

The most recent AI I've been looking at is the voice cloning tools. I tried one called RVC-beta and it was surprisingly good. I was able to put a vocalist from one band onto another band's track, and whilst it wasn't completely perfect, it was still really good - so much so that I actually prefer the track with the cloned vocals. It probably took a couple of hours at most to get the necessary audio files ready, train the model, clone the voice and then insert the cloned vocals into the existing track (whilst removing the original vocals). Although once you have the model trained it's much quicker in future to go through the process, as you're skipping 70% of what you had to do initially.

Most impressive was that this was with extreme metal vocals... genuinely did not think it would be very successful with that, but results were very good.

 

 

[RoverDom]

22 hours ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

Jist briefly browsing through previous comments it seems its main use is to do peoples work for them because they're too lazy to use thier brain do it themselves 🤷 (seriously does nobody actually do a solid full weeks work anymore week in week out) 

You say lazy like it's a bad thing. If there's someone not pulling their weight in the team then yeah that is bad but what's wrong with finding different, more streamlined ways of delivering the same output? if there weren't lazy people looking for shortcuts we'd all still be working in the fields. 

It's just another tool to use in your job to make tasks quicker and more effective. It's no different to farmers using machinery to harvest crops "are people too lazy to pick it all by hand these days". 

It helps me do jobs quicker and to a better quality, i still need to fact check it and use my knowledge / experience to turn it into something useable. The other day I had a query around power purchase agreements and leases - without AI that would have probably been  a full mornings work as I could think of a few different areas I'd need to research. Within 30 seconds ChatGPT had given me all the areas I'd need to consider and a couple of others that wouldn't have crossed my mind. All in it took about an hour to turn something round to my boss. 

 

[DE.]

I wouldn't call streamlining a process lazy at all. I'd say lazy would be plodding along following the same process over and over again, whereas somebody with ingenuity will always be looking for new and better ways to do things that saves time and effort so that said time and effort can be redirected to something equally useful. 

The idea that you aren't learning isn't really accurate either. If you're literally just copying and pasting then yeah, sure, but if you're using the information you get to increase your knowledge then all it means is that you're learning things as a faster rate than if you'd have to trawl through google or technical manuals to find the one thing you actually need for the job you're doing.

[Dreams of 1995]

On 17/06/2023 at 12:25, Armchair supporter supremo said:

Jist briefly browsing through previous comments it seems its main use is to do peoples work for them because they're too lazy to use thier brain do it themselves 🤷 (seriously does nobody actually do a solid full weeks work anymore week in week out) 

It’s much smarter to adapt

If people do solid weeks, week in week out, then you are wasting your life. You only get one 

[TugaysMarlboro]

If anyone pays for anything related to Google, i.e. Storage or something.

You'll be able to request early access to Google's generative AI - Bard (bard.google.com)

Personally much prefer it to ChatGPT, the ability to export direct to google sheets, code block amendments and the like are quite good but still being refined, Eventually will become the replacement for current google search.

Edited June 23, 2023 by TugaysMarlboro

[Armchair supporter supremo]

8 hours ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

It’s much smarter to adapt

If people do solid weeks, week in week out, then you are wasting your life. You only get one 

And that's why the countrys economy is going to 💩 since the lockdowns (although sheep will blame brexit🥱🥱) nobody actually wants to go out and work anymore, work ethic has gone out of the window. But hey as long as you're enjoying your life.... It's the kids and people from poorer backgrounds that will be left in the 💩 for decades to come

Edited June 23, 2023 by Armchair supporter supremo

[RoverDom]

42 minutes ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

And that's why the countrys economy is going to 💩 since the lockdowns (although sheep will blame brexit🥱🥱) nobody actually wants to go out and work anymore, work ethic has gone out of the window. But hey as long as you're enjoying your life.... It's the kids and people from poorer backgrounds that will be left in the 💩 for decades to come

You should be measured by output not input. I embrace new technology and can therefore do jobs quicker than people who don't and to a better standard. AI is just another tool I use to do this. If I can do the same task to the same quality or better nuti can do it in 4 hours rather than 6, your logic would dictate I'm in the wrong. 

I watched over my colleagues shoulder as she painstakingly went down 100ish lines of data doing a manual calculation on her calculator and typing the number at the end of the row. After 5minutes and much pleading I jumped in, did a nested IF statement in less than 60 seconds and boom job done. An hours works done in 2 minutes. When Microsoft copilot rolls out I imagine it could be done in under 20 seconds. But my colleauge was showing fantastic work ethic working away in the stone age. 

Sorry but you're showing a really antiquated view of work. AI will revolutionise the workplace.

[Armchair supporter supremo]

6 minutes ago, RoverDom said:

You should be measured by output not input. I embrace new technology and can therefore do jobs quicker than people who don't and to a better standard. AI is just another tool I use to do this. If I can do the same task to the same quality or better nuti can do it in 4 hours rather than 6, your logic would dictate I'm in the wrong. 

I watched over my colleagues shoulder as she painstakingly went down 100ish lines of data doing a manual calculation on her calculator and typing the number at the end of the row. After 5minutes and much pleading I jumped in, did a nested IF statement in less than 60 seconds and boom job done. An hours works done in 2 minutes. When Microsoft copilot rolls out I imagine it could be done in under 20 seconds. But my colleauge was showing fantastic work ethic working away in the stone age. 

Sorry but you're showing a really antiquated view of work. AI will revolutionise the workplace.

You're showing you have a bloody tediously boring job🤷 and likely live in a bit of an IT bubble

Edited June 23, 2023 by Armchair supporter supremo

[wilsdenrover]

6 minutes ago, RoverDom said:

You should be measured by output not input. I embrace new technology and can therefore do jobs quicker than people who don't and to a better standard. AI is just another tool I use to do this. If I can do the same task to the same quality or better nuti can do it in 4 hours rather than 6, your logic would dictate I'm in the wrong. 

I watched over my colleagues shoulder as she painstakingly went down 100ish lines of data doing a manual calculation on her calculator and typing the number at the end of the row. After 5minutes and much pleading I jumped in, did a nested IF statement in less than 60 seconds and boom job done. An hours works done in 2 minutes. When Microsoft copilot rolls out I imagine it could be done in under 20 seconds. But my colleauge was showing fantastic work ethic working away in the stone age. 

Sorry but you're showing a really antiquated view of work. AI will revolutionise the workplace.

I’ve tried explaining this to my wife…

[RoverDom]

5 minutes ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

You're showing you have a bloody tediously boring job🤷 and likely live in a bit of an IT bubble

I'm a cleanshirt desk jockey yeah but that's the way the world is going. Out of interest what did / do you do? I bet that field has been made easier amd better at somepoint by new tools / technology / ways of working. That's all AI is, a new tool. 

[Armchair supporter supremo]

2 hours ago, RoverDom said:

I'm a cleanshirt desk jockey yeah but that's the way the world is going. Out of interest what did / do you do? I bet that field has been made easier amd better at somepoint by new tools / technology / ways of working. That's all AI is, a new tool. 

No, I work mainly with dogs.... So no my job has and always will be hands on 😄 yes you do get know it alls thinking they're reinventing the wheel in this industry occasionally, but it's most just the pet supplies industry trying to flog new useless garbage

And that's not the way the world can ever really go otherwise nothing would ever get produced... But from the it equipment that you use to the food that you put in your belly

P. S. prior to my current career I spent around 20 years working in manufacturing 

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by Armchair supporter supremo

[DE.]

The economy being in the toilet has nothing to do with AI or work ethic, just rampant, greed-filled capitalism and humanity's destruction of the Earth really starting to bite. The consequences of both will only continue to escalate going forward. No amount of work ethic from your average joe is going to change anything. Fortunately for the boomers they won't live to see the worst of it - their children and grandchildren will be the ones who suffer for those sins. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by DE.

[Armchair supporter supremo]

The Earth can/will take care of itself when it needs to, I don't think people could even comprehend what the planet is cable of doing to protect itself.

[DE.]

That isn't the issue, the problem is how climate change impacts our way of life in the meantime. Water shortages, rising sea levels, the breakdown of biodiversity, heatwaves, wildfires, animal and insect extinction ... the Earth will go on, but that's not much solice to those living on an increasingly hostile and inhospitable planet. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by DE.

[Armchair supporter supremo]

41 minutes ago, DE. said:

That isn't the issue, the problem is how climate change impacts our way of life in the meantime. Water shortages, rising sea levels, the breakdown of biodiversity, heatwaves, wildfires, animal and insect extinction ... the Earth will go on, but that's not much solice to those living on an increasingly hostile and inhospitable planet. 

If it's true what the media and government say(I doubt it completely is, because when is it ever.... ) then it's just tough titty innit, not nice but you reap what you saw and all that. We've all be complicit in the mess we've caused even if that's just by turning a blind eye for decades and decades

Edited June 25, 2023 by Armchair supporter supremo

[DE.]

Well, the true impacts weren't really being widely shared until the 90s, so it would have been difficult for anyone to make a difference before then, and even the earlier predictions were flawed (as it turns out they were generally too optimistic)  and the subject of major dispute. I don't think there's anything the average person could have done to prevent a lot of what's happened. The big companies and most powerful Governments knew what was going on, but turned a blind eye in favour of profits, so that's where the ire should be aimed, not at the general population. 

We all know about it now, and many people are trying to protest and take a stance, but it seems like it's all a bit 'after the horse has bolted'. Meanwhile Governments who continue to prioritise profits over everything else continue to get voted in, so, it seems a bit hopeless. 

Nonetheless, the point is the economy being trashed doesn't really have anything to do with people not working hard or utilising AI for their jobs - that's just rhetoric spouted by the upper classes designed to turn the working and middle-class against each other, when it's such a miniscule part of the problem that it isn't even worth focusing on.

[RoverDom]

I'm not sure on timescales but I'm fairly certain in the next 6-12 months my work is going to rollout Microsoft copilot. 

I think it'll be really interesting to see the impact. There will be an element of people being lazy and you'll see some obviously AI generated work copy and pasted without being checked or tweaked but there will be others who will become 10x more productive as a result. 

There's a Microsfot teams plug in that I have a few concerns about. There'll need to be a behaviour shift from many in how they conduct themselves on Teams calls based on the features i saw demo'd

[Armchair supporter supremo]

Those working in IT will gradually just put themselves out of work the more they embrace and become to rely on ai. Sadly i think the majority of them will end up the way of the miners... There will just be no use for them once it's realised that companies can now just have 1 person with the use of ai doing what a team of people currently do in the same amount of time

Edited June 25, 2023 by Armchair supporter supremo

[RoverDom]

12 hours ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

Those working in IT will gradually just put themselves out of work the more they embrace and become to rely on ai. Sadly i think the majority of them will end up the way of the miners... There will just be no use for them once it's realised that companies can now just have 1 person with the use of ai doing what a team of people currently do in the same amount of time

AI is coming whether we like it or not. Best thing to do is adapt and be the ones who can use it. It'll never replace a whole team but will reduce the size of a team (long term)

[DE.]

I don't think AI will replace roles in a singular sense, but I do think it will decrease the amount of highly skilled people required within teams - as lower-skilled people will be able to use AI for the more difficult stuff.

I wear quite a few hats in my job, and every so often I have to do some coding. Sometimes in languages I either haven't used in ages, or have never used. Typically I'd get in touch with somebody a lot more experienced to help me out with parts that I can't get my head around. Recently ChatGPT has provided me with the answers I needed (obviously ensuring the questions and data presented is all vague and anonymous), meaning I didn't have to reach out for help. Granted at this point I'll still show the code to an experienced coder to ensure there's no serious errors there, but nonetheless it's not difficult to see where that kind of situation leads.

[RoverDom]

I can't see people losing jobs because of AI as such (certainly not I huge numbers) but I can see people not being replaced. If I can do my job twice as fast with AI then I have more capacity. If someone leaves my team of 4 then the remaining 3 will have more than enough capacity to divide up the leavers duties. 

At the moment I basically see it as similar to having a graduate work for you. You meed to give it specific prompts and double check the output but it really saves the ballaching mundane element of your job. 

[ben_the_beast]

It won't be AI that takes anybodies job but someone using AI that will. I'm of the opinion the biggest investment anyone can make in their future career right now is understanding and mastering the basics of AI. Obviously that's dependent on the field you work in, but it's certainly not isolated to just 'IT jobs'. Use a computer for work; you're implicated. 

It's going to change the world for both better and worse. In theory the levels of output from an average worker are going to skyrocket, freeing up the time for people to focus on complex, innovative tasks rather than having their time taken by the mundane, time consuming ones, which will be easier to automate. Unfortunately, capitalism is capitalism and these increased profits will go straight into the pockets of large corporations, who are able to streamline their teams.

AI is capable of creating a worldwide utopia, where humans have increased levels of free time, whilst businesses continue to thrive. I cannot see it happening though. I do see mass unemployment on the horizon. Each individual is capable of protecting themselves against such an eventuality, but it will be a race for ever increasing individual output using AI as the tool to get there. 

There will be a lot to navigate for governments and societies over the next 5 years. It would only be one piece of the jigsaw, but switching to a 4 day working week would go someway to mitigating the damage. If that makes me, someone who's always been working since the age of 13 lazy, then so be it. 

[RoverDom]

"the biggest investment anyone can make in their future career right now is understanding and mastering the basics of AI."

Couldn't agree more with this. Blockchain, VR, AR etc you get away with passing you by but AI is essential. With this in mind - what would people recommend trying out? 

At the moment I've only used ChatGPT (free) and Bing on top of some background reading on AI but really feel like I'm only scratching the surface.