ChatGPT-4 for Non-Tech Managers

After using the premium paid version of ChatGPT-4 ($20/month subscription) for a few days, I'm in a position to pass public judgment on "this whole AI thing" once and for all. You're welcome.

AI and LLMs (large language models) will be the game-changers that the more level-headed fans are talking about. But most of the real impact will be behind the scenes and barely noticeable—which is the point. For individual users, the "killer app" will be personal chatbots—though probably with a better name. In business, the key battlefield will be actionable business intelligence. Many organizations will also rely heavily on bots for customer service and communications. The downside? Expensive, opaque, and exclusionary.

AI is the Real Deal

AI and LLMs like ChatGPT-4 are the real deal. They are going to be part of your professional and personal life very soon. I've been using different services for a few months for research and analysis. When writing, I use AI for brainstorming new ideas and to process what I've already written. I am not a fan of the writing of any of the chatbots—at least not yet. They tend to come off as too generic, and their conclusions are dull and predictable. You can use all the best prompting techniques in the world, but machine prose still sounds like machine prose. It's fine for a boilerplate email response, but if you're trying to pass off machine prose as your own considered arguments, then you're engaging in risky behavior.

Ubiquitous and Barely Visible?

AIs are going to be as common as search engines or email accounts. Most of the time, the AI functionality will be nearly invisible. Your search engine may start asking you questions back, and your email may offer to compose a response on your behalf. You will probably deal with AI when calling for customer service or placing orders. For the most part, new AI will be a slight improvement over older versions, and you might not know you're dealing with a machine for the first few minutes of your interaction. As a customer-facing technology, AI will try to seem as human as possible. Organizations have a choice between using AI to cut costs or improve quality and value. If history is any indicator, costs will get cut.

ChatGPT-4 Premium Service

ChatGPT-4 is a big step up in raw computing power from its no-cost alternative. But it also has a couple of features that reveal a lot about the future of AI in business and life.

The main feature you care about is the ability to use plug-ins. These are custom add-on programs that allow GPT-4 to speak directly to outside applications. If those outside apps happen to search the web or databases, then so be it. Not only do the plug-ins allow you to access the internet, but you can also use ChatGPT-4's computational power to process and enhance the data you find.

Plug-ins open the door to a broad market of functions and processes, and they will operate on an advertising or marketplace model. But if there's an app for that now, then before long there'll be a plug-in for that too.

Killer App: Your Own Private Internet

I'm going on record as hating the phrase 'chatbot,' especially for something as important and ubiquitous as AI agents. The must-have AI application will be your own personal AI agent (I'm calling them Arties, for Artificial Inteligence Entity), that will organize your life. Let's face it—we've moved to the cloud, and our lives have outgrown our email accounts and online photo galleries. Encrypted data storage is nice, but so 20th century. Personal Secure Internets will be your future.

Imagine logging on to your own private workspace where all of your resources, material, and work-in-progress will be there, but secure and confidential. It will be your own space, complete with past conversations, previous research efforts, and project drafts—all the information you need, all your private stuff, the entire internet, all your accounts, and a smart assistant who understands you and can put all of the computational firepower of the internet at your disposal.

Everyone you know is going to have one, and it's likely that digital assistants will be responsible for scheduling meetings, handling routine correspondence, and completing routine tasks.

?The Reality of AI

- It's a work in progress. I judge all technologies on the "Google—Segway" scale. All new techs look cool and shiny when they're still in the box, but if tech companies don't manage the cost/utility curve properly, then chatbots could easily go the way of the much-maligned Segway or Twitter. On the other hand, if greed and regulation are held in check, then this tech could become the new & improved search engine. Just how practical ChatGPT-4 and other chatbots are depends on how they're developed and marketed.

- What privacy? Even as premium botware promotes its security and privacy protection, we can use the rise of AI as shorthand for “the day privacy finally died”. It's over. Stick a fork in it. The AI will know you better than you know yourself, and you have absolutely NO IDEA where that information will end up.?

- Reinforces existing leaders and methods. Don't look for AI to shake up business or threaten brand leadeers. AI will be very reactive. It is based on finding the mean - and will be a strong force toward maintaining the status quo.

- Broad organization—not deep analysis. It answers cleverly if you know how to prompt, but originality and creativity are not its strengths. I know that there is a lot of hype over what deep thinkers the new AI's are, but that might be for programmers and creatives. In our business world, AI's intellectual heft is not impressive. It's very comprehensive, organized, and powerful—but at this point, it's not an intellectual powerhouse in our world.

- Bad data and inaccuracy are still huge problems, and they get worse as you move farther from mainstream markets. Some of the information that ChatGPT-4 has given me about Mexico was outdated—and some is just plain wrong. Don't try to whitewash the problem by calling it "occasional hallucinations." If you print wrong information, it's your reputation (and possibly your legal defense) on the line.

Final Word:

In summary, ChatGPT-4 is poised to evolutionize how we communicate and conduct business. AI is a big step, but we've been on this path for a long time. While AI offers significant advantages, users should be aware of its limitations and costs. Adaptation is not just an option; it's a necessity. But AI is a tool, not magic. You have to learn the basics and then master the technique. ?The old trope about tech in business is truer than ever – "Your position won’t be taken by AI -- it will be taken by a competitor using AI."

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Next: The Future of Ubiquitous AI

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