3 ms·

I think of these tools as "first draft writers". You can't rely on OpenAI's GPT models to do your research for you or replace knowledge of a particular domain,

by Veen 4y ago

I think of these tools as "first draft writers". You can't rely on OpenAI's GPT models to do your research for you or replace knowledge of a particular domain, but they significantly accelerate the initial content drafting process. Then you edit and fact-check and adapt, as you would anyway, but you've cut out much of the time-consuming grind of getting words on the page.

thefaux 4y ago
There is something that I find deeply unsatisfying about this. For me, the first draft is as much about working through the problems space and considering possibilities. If I rely on a chat bot, then I am more apt to become anchored to whatever the chat bot spits back out at me. Even if what it produces is good enough, I do not benefit from the drafting process in the way that I would if I did it myself. Sometimes maybe this is a good enough shortcut but I generally don't believe in shortcuts.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- visarga 4y ago
  Actually it works not as the first draft, or the final draft - it is the middle draft. In stage one you just drop a bunch of bullet points, ideas, short notes. In stage 2 the model writes your article or paper. In stage 3 you fix it. Almost 100% next iteration will sport a fact checker, powerful style and format controls, and a much larger context. The development of advanced fact checkers will have a big impact on anything propagated online.
ghaff 4y ago
It's more like a pre-draft from what I've seen. But for an area I know, I can absolutely see something like ChatGPT throwing 500 words down on some topic and generating some explanatory boilerplate about something like what a service mesh is. I'll take out some things that I don't quite agree with, give it more of a "voice," maybe add some data/quotes/links/etc. It's not going to write me something I'll hand to an editor. But for certain things, it could definitely give me a head start relative to a blank sheet of paper.
gerash 4y ago
first draft does set the direction

by Veen 4y ago

thefaux 4y ago

There is something that I find deeply unsatisfying about this. For me, the first draft is as much about working through the problems space and considering possibilities. If I rely on a chat bot, then I am more apt to become anchored to whatever the chat bot spits back out at me. Even if what it produces is good enough, I do not benefit from the drafting process in the way that I would if I did it myself. Sometimes maybe this is a good enough shortcut but I generally don't believe in shortcuts.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
visarga 4y ago
Actually it works not as the first draft, or the final draft - it is the middle draft. In stage one you just drop a bunch of bullet points, ideas, short notes. In stage 2 the model writes your article or paper. In stage 3 you fix it. Almost 100% next iteration will sport a fact checker, powerful style and format controls, and a much larger context. The development of advanced fact checkers will have a big impact on anything propagated online.

ghaff 4y ago

It's more like a pre-draft from what I've seen. But for an area I know, I can absolutely see something like ChatGPT throwing 500 words down on some topic and generating some explanatory boilerplate about something like what a service mesh is. I'll take out some things that I don't quite agree with, give it more of a "voice," maybe add some data/quotes/links/etc. It's not going to write me something I'll hand to an editor. But for certain things, it could definitely give me a head start relative to a blank sheet of paper.

gerash 4y ago

first draft does set the direction