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ChatGPT Is Everywhere, The Epsilon Method And Thinking In Systems
Various uses for ChatGPT, how to start projects without building from scratch, and more!
Elhadj Chikhaoui
January 29, 2023
Hello and welcome to the Generalist's Thinkbox!
I'm Elhadj and I'll be your host today. Product manager by trade, an entrepreneur/indie hacker by choice and passion! Through this newsletter, I aim to share interesting tidbits regarding tech, business, product management, spirituality, systems' thinking and everything in between! Being a generalist means having a wide range of interests, yet it can be overwhelming to make sense of all that info coming from every direction. I know, I've been there.
By learning to connect the dots, we widen our perspective, supercharge our productivity and spot unique opportunities!
Additionally, I've decided to do the "12 Startups in 12 Months" challenge this year, so I'll provide pertinent updates for those of us who have a vested interest in building side projects :)
I want you to learn at least something useful from every new issue I publish. So stay tuned for more! Your feedback will be greatly appreciated as I'll do my best to meet your needs!
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For now, let's get on with today's program :
ChatGPT Shenaningans
The Epsilon Method
What is Systems Thinking?
On The Origin Of Equality Among People
Tool Of The Day
Content I Like
Let's get to it!
Tech:
You might have heard of ChatGPT, the conversational AI that can seemingly do wonders on any sort of ask. Well, some people have been using it, let's just say creatively :
Professor Christian Terwiesch of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (an award-winning teacher and the author of a widely used operations management textbook) ran an experiment to assess the performance of ChatGPT on a final exam of a typical MBA core course. He found that ChatGPT3 scored a B grade, and listed seven implications for MBA programs and faculty.
I'm not sure I'd get a B grade personally.
Stanford students have recently been using ChatGPT to assist with their assignments and exams. According to an informal poll conducted by The Daily, a majority of student respondents believe that the use of ChatGPT to assist with assignments is currently or should be a violation of the Honor Code. As a result, some professors have revised their syllabi to caution students against using ChatGPT, while others have switched back to more traditional methods of assessment. Stanford AI Alignment student leaders have also cautioned students against using ChatGPT without it being fine-tuned for academic settings.
BuzzFeed Inc. said it would rely on ChatGPT creator OpenAI to enhance its quizzes and personalize some content for its audiences, becoming the latest digital publisher to embrace artificial intelligence. BuzzFeed shares more than doubled in value Thursday, closing at $2.09.
A fascinating piece about how someone used ChatGPT as a proxy coach to prepare for a marathon. They asked it to write a 16-week marathon training plan!
Takeaway: AI is already seeping into every segment of society. Mass adoption is already here. Now comes the hard work of regulation: determining where AI can operate, who owns the content created...etc. Which will be as important in determining the landscape post-ChatGPT as the features of the technology itself.
Business:
In this insightful article, Jakob Greenfeld states there is no need to come up with something completely new to deliver value and compensated for it. It's about increments. The 'Epsilon Method' is about copying something that’s clearly working with some small but sufficiently significant changes. This is applicable to almost any field, as demonstrated in the article.
Taken from the IndieHacker newsletter, this is especially relevant to all entrepreneurs and solofounders running multiple products. And of particular interest to me since I intend to do that over the course of the next 12 months!
TLDR: Be strategic about the projects you choose, be efficient, and use the right tools!
PS: I'll be sharing an article I've been working on recently about how to put into practice this advice! Stay tuned :)
Systems' Thinking:
This will be a recurring segment where I share insights regarding systems thinking, its definitions, and practical examples of its uses!
From the 'Introduction To Systems Thinking' book by Daniel Kim:
Systems thinking can be seen as a perspective. It also involves a unique vocabulary for describing systemic behavior, and so can be thought of as a language as well. And, because it offers a range of techniques and devices for visually capturing and communicating about systems, it is a set of tools.
From this basic explanation, we can already grasp that systems thinking is as much about the tools and language as it is about the perspective. This intro also includes an implicit definition of a system: a group of different parts that all work together. All the parts depend on each other and help each other out. Without all the parts working together, it wouldn't be a system.
But how can we determine if we're dealing with a proper system or just a collection of things? We'll see in-depth in the next issue, so stay tuned!
Misc.:
A quick round-up of some of the most interesting pieces I came across:
Tool Of The Week:
I'll be sharing a cool product I've come across. As is the theme of this newsletter, expect an eclectic choice, with a likely focus on productivity, writing, and business.
Yes, it's another AI writer, with a twist. It's specifically meant for writing fiction. On top of the usual features (Brainstorming, auto-completion...etc), Sudowrite stands out thanks to a couple of additions: it can describe an object using all 5 senses, and it can generate characters based on existing characters and a short synopsis. I've always had trouble coming up with great location/character descriptions, so this is great for that!
Content I Like :
Sometimes I'd recommend a cool piece of content/content creator!
The WhoWhatWhyAi newsletter by Zeng and Brian. At the intersection of AI and Art, they provide valuable content for those of us who want to learn to leverage generative AI to boost our productivity!
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That's a wrap!
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