How good is generative AI hey mate? By definition it's generic out of the box but we can now make it much more personalised by giving the foundational language models (e.g. GPT4) access to more personalised (or proprietary) information about yourself or a business. There are a number of ways to do this but essentially you are giving the language model access to a history of you and any conversations you have with it. The language model algorithm won't learn in the truest sense but it will have refernce to more material when generating responses to your query. Fascinating area to be involved with and the applications are legion.
I'm no shrink but with regards to your immediate situation we've got to accept that there are sometimes things we can't control and the challenge is not avoiding them but knowing how to deal with them. Like you, when I'm on holiday or away from home I hate missing some parts of my routine like a jog and some weights (I'm no athlete but it's good for endorphins etc). To combat that I make it clear to the family I need at least 30 mins a day to do some exercise no matter where we are. I bring my shoes and some gym gear. I even look for hotels with a gym or an airbnb with a park nearby to run around. I do this because I know without it I'm not at my best and I'll maybe be grumpy around the family and ruin their time!
I guess ultimately it's about self awareness and understanding what your needs/peeves are and what you can do to address them. None of what your wrote, or what I wrote above, is unreasonable but I think it's easy for people to think they are small things and to "just not worry about them". For some people they are key to their wellbeing and that's fine. It would be similar to telling a cigarette smoker that they could just quit whenever they want. Of course they can't. It's a habit (a bad one) but habit's are hard to change and sometimes with good habits you shouldn't be.
Bit of a ramble but really enjoyed this post. Hope you smashed the preso and are feeling great now. One thing I've learned with presenting is, like anything, the more you do it the better you get and then you really start enjoying it as you essentially just have a conversation with the audience and can start focusing less on your content and more on reading the audience and adjusting on the fly to suit their particular interest.
I love this, what a great tool to have. I'm giving it a go! There's been so many times lately where my work confidence is way down (I think due to my redundnacy and difficiluty getting work last year). Would be very handy just to be able to have a quick chat to someone (something!?) about it all, in particular in those times where you're really feeling it. This is great and really appreciate you sharing it.
"And as someone who’s spoken with both an AI and a real psych for help, I’ve found speaking with a real psych is still best.
But I didn’t want to wait days/weeks feeling crap until my psych was free. I needed help right then because I had the presentation looming. Which I got."
I was talking to my brother in law about this stuff yesterday. He is a family relationships counselor. He was expressing (very fair) concerns about how AI could replace jobs that require that element of human touch to them and that people wouldn't get as good a service from AI as they would from a professional.
I agree'd with him on that point, but explained to him that I don't think AI will ever replace those types of services and I don't think that's anyone's intentions. I think it will be used to "bridge the gap" between someone who needs help but has to wait. I can't see how it could be a bad thing if used correctly. If people can use a combination of AI and therapy, counselling, whatever, then maybe it could provide some relief to what is a heavily strained industry. Maybe someone who currently has weekly appointments could bridge that out to fortnightly appointments by having a daily chat with AI. This would result in the professionals being able to spread their net wider and take on more clients who are currently struggling on their own because wait times and extensive administration processes are all too overwhelming. I think a potential trickle on effect could be more young people wanting to move into these professions when they start to see they strain on the industry gradually lift.
I completely understand and empathise with his concerns, however I think he's looking at it from the wrong angle. People need to stop thinking about what AI is going to take away from them and start thinking about how can I best embrace this as an aid to get better.
How good is generative AI hey mate? By definition it's generic out of the box but we can now make it much more personalised by giving the foundational language models (e.g. GPT4) access to more personalised (or proprietary) information about yourself or a business. There are a number of ways to do this but essentially you are giving the language model access to a history of you and any conversations you have with it. The language model algorithm won't learn in the truest sense but it will have refernce to more material when generating responses to your query. Fascinating area to be involved with and the applications are legion.
I'm no shrink but with regards to your immediate situation we've got to accept that there are sometimes things we can't control and the challenge is not avoiding them but knowing how to deal with them. Like you, when I'm on holiday or away from home I hate missing some parts of my routine like a jog and some weights (I'm no athlete but it's good for endorphins etc). To combat that I make it clear to the family I need at least 30 mins a day to do some exercise no matter where we are. I bring my shoes and some gym gear. I even look for hotels with a gym or an airbnb with a park nearby to run around. I do this because I know without it I'm not at my best and I'll maybe be grumpy around the family and ruin their time!
I guess ultimately it's about self awareness and understanding what your needs/peeves are and what you can do to address them. None of what your wrote, or what I wrote above, is unreasonable but I think it's easy for people to think they are small things and to "just not worry about them". For some people they are key to their wellbeing and that's fine. It would be similar to telling a cigarette smoker that they could just quit whenever they want. Of course they can't. It's a habit (a bad one) but habit's are hard to change and sometimes with good habits you shouldn't be.
Bit of a ramble but really enjoyed this post. Hope you smashed the preso and are feeling great now. One thing I've learned with presenting is, like anything, the more you do it the better you get and then you really start enjoying it as you essentially just have a conversation with the audience and can start focusing less on your content and more on reading the audience and adjusting on the fly to suit their particular interest.
Absolutely fascinating Ben. Thanks for sharing with such vulnerability.
I love this, what a great tool to have. I'm giving it a go! There's been so many times lately where my work confidence is way down (I think due to my redundnacy and difficiluty getting work last year). Would be very handy just to be able to have a quick chat to someone (something!?) about it all, in particular in those times where you're really feeling it. This is great and really appreciate you sharing it.
Good work on the preso and I KNOW it went well!!
Great post . Stop worrying. Worrying won’t help.
Don’t be concerned about your brain. You are in wonderful shape!
You have standards and focus on accountability. They are qualities however they are also handicaps .
Thanks for sharing Ben!
How did your presentation go?
Sounds like your colleagues are testing your adaptability 🙃
"And as someone who’s spoken with both an AI and a real psych for help, I’ve found speaking with a real psych is still best.
But I didn’t want to wait days/weeks feeling crap until my psych was free. I needed help right then because I had the presentation looming. Which I got."
I was talking to my brother in law about this stuff yesterday. He is a family relationships counselor. He was expressing (very fair) concerns about how AI could replace jobs that require that element of human touch to them and that people wouldn't get as good a service from AI as they would from a professional.
I agree'd with him on that point, but explained to him that I don't think AI will ever replace those types of services and I don't think that's anyone's intentions. I think it will be used to "bridge the gap" between someone who needs help but has to wait. I can't see how it could be a bad thing if used correctly. If people can use a combination of AI and therapy, counselling, whatever, then maybe it could provide some relief to what is a heavily strained industry. Maybe someone who currently has weekly appointments could bridge that out to fortnightly appointments by having a daily chat with AI. This would result in the professionals being able to spread their net wider and take on more clients who are currently struggling on their own because wait times and extensive administration processes are all too overwhelming. I think a potential trickle on effect could be more young people wanting to move into these professions when they start to see they strain on the industry gradually lift.
I completely understand and empathise with his concerns, however I think he's looking at it from the wrong angle. People need to stop thinking about what AI is going to take away from them and start thinking about how can I best embrace this as an aid to get better.