5 ms·

Yeah I frequently discuss difficult system design or other engineering problems with AI. I don't copy-paste it as my own thoughts, but use it as a way to brains

Yeah I frequently discuss difficult system design or other engineering problems with AI. I don't copy-paste it as my own thoughts, but use it as a way to brainstorm solutions. It's no different from discussing it with a colleague that has a very different brain from me. The tech secretary's use of AI seems perfectly appropriate.

gpjt 2y ago
I've found it very useful with organisational problems too. I had a complex issue to work through recently and tried working with ChatGPT, Claude and Grok 3 to optimise letters to some of the people involved to try to get things solved in the way I felt was fairest for all involved (anonymised, of course, with no memory on ChatGPT). One neat trick was to export the letter from one chat, then to start a fresh one, say that I am <role of recipient> and provide the letter and ask what it thinks -- basically red-teaming it. The process of doing that clarified my thoughts and arguments so much that I never wound up having to send them -- I'd already made the right points on Slack and in meetings, and a compromise was achieved.
dazzawazza 2y ago
The only really reliable use I discovered for AI so far is rubber-ducking. As you dig down it's often so hilariously useless it sparks my decaying intelligence to offer up a gem. Less fruitful than talking to a Junior Engineer but more useful than a physical rubber duck.
gh0stcat 2y ago
> I don’t copy-paste it as my own thoughts Like how engineers claim they are not losing skills because they are using programming tool assistants, I think there is an over-confidence thing at play here, where the user of an AI assistant doesn’t want to admit to themselves that they are also being shaped by it. You are still being subtly influenced by something, that’s the whole issue at play here. OpenAI has incredible power in influencing the subconscious of so many people, and I think thats the thing to question here. I am not entirely against it, but we need to be honest with ourselves with how malleable our minds are and influenced we are by what we consume.
- zeroCalories 2y ago
  Do you lose skills when discussing things with colleagues? What if you find the answer in a book? Sure if you're just having someone else do your work or using an equation without understanding it you'll lose skills, but nothing suggests that AI is essentially worse than either of those. The government official asking for ideas about how they might improve ai adoption in the UK is a perfect example of a good usage. They are actively engaging with the AI, not having it write their policy. Concerns about bias are bikeshedding. I am much more concerned about the systemic bias of race than I am about OpenAI trying to psyop people(I'm not concerned about race).

gpjt 2y ago

I've found it very useful with organisational problems too. I had a complex issue to work through recently and tried working with ChatGPT, Claude and Grok 3 to optimise letters to some of the people involved to try to get things solved in the way I felt was fairest for all involved (anonymised, of course, with no memory on ChatGPT). One neat trick was to export the letter from one chat, then to start a fresh one, say that I am <role of recipient> and provide the letter and ask what it thinks -- basically red-teaming it. The process of doing that clarified my thoughts and arguments so much that I never wound up having to send them -- I'd already made the right points on Slack and in meetings, and a compromise was achieved.

dazzawazza 2y ago

The only really reliable use I discovered for AI so far is rubber-ducking. As you dig down it's often so hilariously useless it sparks my decaying intelligence to offer up a gem. Less fruitful than talking to a Junior Engineer but more useful than a physical rubber duck.

gh0stcat 2y ago

> I don’t copy-paste it as my own thoughts Like how engineers claim they are not losing skills because they are using programming tool assistants, I think there is an over-confidence thing at play here, where the user of an AI assistant doesn’t want to admit to themselves that they are also being shaped by it. You are still being subtly influenced by something, that’s the whole issue at play here. OpenAI has incredible power in influencing the subconscious of so many people, and I think thats the thing to question here. I am not entirely against it, but we need to be honest with ourselves with how malleable our minds are and influenced we are by what we consume.

zeroCalories 2y ago
Do you lose skills when discussing things with colleagues? What if you find the answer in a book? Sure if you're just having someone else do your work or using an equation without understanding it you'll lose skills, but nothing suggests that AI is essentially worse than either of those. The government official asking for ideas about how they might improve ai adoption in the UK is a perfect example of a good usage. They are actively engaging with the AI, not having it write their policy. Concerns about bias are bikeshedding. I am much more concerned about the systemic bias of race than I am about OpenAI trying to psyop people(I'm not concerned about race).