ChatGPT was first released at the end of 2022 and has been making headlines ever since. While it’s a powerful tool, it’s important to remember that ChatGPT is a computer program and may not always provide perfect or accurate responses.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an advanced computer program that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to converse with people. The technology is built on an LLM (Large Language Model) that basically predicts what the next word should be in a sequence of words.
ChatGPT was created by OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research laboratory and company that aims to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity.1
Income Protection for Freelancers and Independent Contractors
How does ChatGPT work?
ChatGPT is “pre-trained” on a massive amount of data from the internet and learns to predict the next word in a sentence. When someone asks ChatGPT a question, ChatGPT processes the question by converting it into a sequence of tokens. It then predicts the next token in the sequence based on the patterns it learned during pre-training and fine-tuning. The predicted token is added to the sequence, and this process is repeated to generate a coherent response.
It’s important to note that while ChatGPT can generate impressive and contextually relevant responses, it doesn’t truly “understand” in the way humans do. It lacks genuine consciousness, emotions, or true comprehension.
How to use ChatGPT
ChatGPT is pretty straightforward. You enter questions or give commands, and ChatGPT responds to them.
Step 1: Ask your question
Have a clear idea of what you want to ask or discuss with ChatGPT. It could be a specific question, a topic you’d like information on, or a request for assistance or advice. Make sure your query is clear, concise, and straightforward. If you need help with a task, clearly explain what you’re looking for.
Step 2: Evaluate and refine
As you interact with ChatGPT, evaluate the responses to determine their relevance and usefulness. You can rephrase or specify your query to get more accurate or specific information. Keep the conversation going by asking additional questions or seeking clarification until you have received the information or assistance you were looking for.
Step 3: Verify the information
While ChatGPT aims to provide helpful and accurate responses, it’s important to independently verify any important information from trusted sources before taking action or making decisions based on the model’s suggestions. ChatGPT responds in such a human-like way and is VERY good at appearing to know what it is talking about, even when it is completely wrong.
How can ChatGPT help me at work?
In a world that thrives on seamless communication and unparalleled convenience, freelancers are finding an unexpected ally in the form of ChatGPT. It can help freelancers save time, streamline their workflow, generate ideas, compose emails, and improve the quality of their work.
To give you some more ideas, let’s explore how ChatGPT can help social media managers and writers.
ChatGPT for social media managers
ChatGPT can help with various aspects of social media management by providing creative suggestions for emails, posts, captions, hashtags, and interactive content formats. Social media managers can provide prompts or describe the desired tone and style, and ChatGPT can generate relevant and exciting content ideas.
For example, Team Woligo asked ChatGPT to create ideas for social media posts to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Below is the exact response.
ChatGPT Response
To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month on social media, here are some post ideas that promote awareness, appreciation, and recognition of the rich cultural contributions of the Hispanic community:
- Share Inspiring Stories: Highlight influential Hispanic figures who have made significant contributions to arts, science, literature, sports, or social activism. Share their stories and how they have positively impacted society.
- Cultural Spotlights: Feature different aspects of Hispanic culture, such as traditional music, dance, cuisine, art, or festivals. Provide interesting facts or behind-the-scenes insights to educate and engage your audience.
- Trivia Quizzes: Create interactive quizzes or polls that test your audience’s knowledge of Hispanic culture, history, and achievements. Encourage them to participate and offer small prizes or shoutouts for correct answers.
- Collaborations: Partner with Hispanic-owned businesses, artists, or community organizations to co-create content that celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month. This can include joint live streams, interviews, or collaborative projects that showcase their work and contributions.
- Personal Stories: Encourage members of the Hispanic community within your audience to share their personal stories, experiences, or traditions related to their heritage. Create a dedicated hashtag for them to use and feature selected stories on your social media platforms.
- Quote Graphics: Design visually appealing graphics featuring inspiring quotes by notable Hispanic figures. Include a brief background about the person and their significance, along with an engaging visual element that represents their identity.
- Educational Infographics: Create informative and visually appealing infographics that educate your audience about the history, achievements, and contributions of Hispanic individuals or communities. Highlight key facts, statistics, and milestones.
- Language and Wordplay: Incorporate common Spanish phrases, proverbs, or idioms into your posts with translations or explanations. Engage your audience by asking them to share their favorite Spanish words or phrases and what they mean to them.
- Book or Film Recommendations: Recommend books, movies, or documentaries that celebrate Hispanic culture, history, or experiences. Provide a brief synopsis and encourage your audience to explore these works to gain a deeper understanding of Hispanic heritage.
- Community Spotlights: Showcase Hispanic individuals or businesses within your local community. Feature their stories, services, or products, and encourage your audience to support and engage with them.
Remember to use appropriate hashtags such as #HispanicHeritage Month, #HMM, or specific tags related to the content or topic you’re sharing. Engage with your audience by encouraging them to share their own stories, memories, or recommendations related to Hispanic heritage.
Those are some pretty good ideas, right?
How long would that have taken you on your own?
Its important to note that social media managers (and all ChatGPT users) should carefully review the generated content to ensure it complies with legal, ethical, and brand standards.
ChatGPT for writers
Whether you are a freelance writer, content creator, or ghostwriter, ChatGPT can be a valuable tool, offering assistance and support throughout the writing process. For example, it can help with idea generation, story structure, writing prompts, or even editing and feedback.
Writers can share their work with ChatGPT, and it can offer suggestions for improving sentence structure, grammar, word choice, or overall clarity. Writers can ask for synonyms, definitions, or examples of word usage. ChatGPT can help writers find the right words to convey their intended meaning or suggest alternative phrasing for more concise and effective writing.
While ChatGPT’s feedback should be evaluated critically, it can provide writers with alternative perspectives and identify areas that may need revision.
Is ChatGPT free?
Yes! You can sign up for a free account by visiting chat.openai.com.
OpenAI has also introduced a subscription plan called “ChatGPT Plus,” which offers benefits such as general access to ChatGPT during peak times, faster response times, and priority access to new features. This subscription plan does involve a monthly fee.
Limitations of ChatGPT
ChatGPT, like any artificial intelligence model, has certain limitations any user should be aware of2
:
- Lack of up-to-date information
- Unable to verify information
- Risk of plagiarism
- Sensitive to phrasing
- Lack of common sense and critical thinking
- Difficulty with ambiguity and context
- Potential for bias
- Inappropriate or offensive responses
Lack of up-to-date information
ChatGPT’s responses are based on pre-existing knowledge up until its last training cutoff date (September 2021 for GPT-3.5). It may not have the most up-to-date information on rapidly changing events, emerging trends, or recent developments in various fields.
Unable to verify information
ChatGPT generates responses based on patterns and information present in the training data. While efforts are made to ensure accuracy, it may occasionally provide incorrect or unreliable information. Fact-checking and verification of information from trusted sources is still necessary.
Risk of plagiarism
Since ChatGPT is trained on text from the internet, it could very well spit out someone else’s content word for word – even if unintentional.
Sensitive to phrasing
The way a question or prompt is phrased can influence ChatGPT’s response. Altering the wording or context of a question may lead to different answers, even if the underlying question is fundamentally the same. This sensitivity to phrasing can sometimes result in inconsistent or unexpected responses.
Lack of common sense and critical thinking
ChatGPT does not possess human-like understanding, critical thinking abilities, or common-sense reasoning. It generates responses based on patterns observed in the training data, and it may provide answers that sound plausible but are not accurate or logical.
Difficulty with ambiguity and context
ChatGPT may struggle with ambiguous queries or lack the ability to fully grasp the context of a question or prompt. It may interpret statements or questions too literally or miss nuances, leading to responses that do not fully address the intended meaning.
Potential for bias
Artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT are trained on vast amounts of data, which may inadvertently contain biases present in the training data. These biases can manifest in the generated responses, potentially reinforcing or perpetuating certain stereotypes or prejudices. Care should be taken to evaluate and address any biases that may arise critically.
Inappropriate or offensive responses
Due to its training on internet text, ChatGPT may sometimes generate responses that are inappropriate, offensive, or exhibit biased behavior. Steps have been taken to mitigate such behavior, but it may not be entirely eliminated.
ChatGPT: Your virtual assistant
ChatGPT can serve as a virtual assistant that can help freelancers with various tasks. However, freelancers need to be aware of ChatGPT’s limitations and exercise critical thinking, fact-checking, and verification of information. By combining the power of ChatGPT and their own expertise, freelancers can optimize their workflows, improve their services, and expand their professional capabilities.
Sources:
- https://openai.com/about
- https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt