Don't be a bystander, start somewhere.

If there was a counter to keep track of words used by humanity, AI in general and GenAI in particular could be most frequently used in recent time. My third blog attempts to have you move past initial reactions of 'yes, I notice the hype', 'it is not for me' and 'it doesn't changes my life' to embark on your own GenAI journey. I will share my daily use of GenAI to improve productivity, and how it is a natural evolution of ‘search and click’ routine we are now so accustomed to.

Ignoring GenAI is akin to not paying attention to past technologies now ubiquitous in our lives. For example, lets take Messaging services.

Mobile phones revolutionized communication by moving telephones from our homes to our pockets. Short Messaging Service (SMS) was a simple, 160-character message alternate to a phone call. It was cheaper and more effective to communicate using SMS even without features like beep or vibration or chat logs. A simple ‘Message Sent’ notification on a monotone screen was enough.  

ChatGPT says “mobile phones gained popularity at beginning of 21st century because of increased network coverage and decrease in size & cost of mobile phones”. “Adoption of SMS was quick & widespread because of its convenience & simplicity”.

ChatGPT may suggest a straightforward path to SMS adoption but my recollection tells a different story!

I probed ChatGPT with additional prompts like ‘did people resist adopting sms?’ and it eventually acknowledged behavioral resistance to SMS adoption.

ChatGPT acknowledged “when it comes to SMS, habit-based resistance was an underlying factor because it represented a shift from traditional communication methods such as phone calls or face-to-face conversations”.

It took few more prompts to get to bottom of where resistance lied. I asked questions like ‘what was main reason?’ and ‘was typing effort one of them?’. Its response eventually reconciled with my recollection for delayed adoption – the T9 keyboard i.e. typing text through 9 keys.

As many may recall, it was simple yet cumbersome.

ChatGPT further acknowledged “Typing messages using T9 is time-consuming, especially when compared to ease of full computer keyboard”. “A numeric keyboard to compose message was LESS intuitive”. “As technology evolved, mobile phones with Qwerty keyboards and touchscreen interfaces became more prevalent”.

Through SMS analogy, two things must be clear.

First, it is natural that new tech takes time before mass adoption. Such delays are grounded in legitimate reasons and are not merely behavioral resistance.

Second, early adopters play a crucial role to provide stimulus for further innovation. A Tech trend only becomes permanent as its adoption spreads. This process empowers Innovators to identify barriers and address them with creativity & ingenuity. The key lies in ensuring new tech is solving a real problem and is not just a shiny, new toy.

ChatGPT nicely maps “SMS to modern messaging has involved multiple key developments such as breaking & combining long message at transmission (1990s), multimedia messaging (early 2000s), Smartphones & Mobile OS (late 2000s), Over-the-Top Messaging apps like WhatsApp, WeChat etc. (2010s), Rich media and Emoji integration (20-Teens) and finally rise of Chat platforms, conversational interfaces and Social media integration prevalent today.   

Mobile phones and SMS solved a communication need, hence they went on to shape modern day Messaging.

Similarly, GenAI tackles a pressing issue of ‘information overload’ and is poised to revolutionize organization and management of information. GenAI brings together existing knowledge and human curiosity, accelerating pace of learning and refining our understanding of world.

My Use case of GenAI is to Ask a Chatbot what I would’ve Searched in a Browser otherwise. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Co-pilot, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s MetaAI are all such 'personal assistants' chatbots.

Gradually, half of my daily 'Search queries' have changed to 'Asking questions'. Line of questioning in GenAI terms is also called prompts. One recieves a summarized response, giving a simple yet effective starting point to an open ended questions.

Each response leads to more questions & more prompts. They are mostly what comes to mind as a next logical question. ChatGPT does not share knowledge sources but Co-pilot, MetaAI and Gemini give additional links for further exploration.

A GenAI chatbot remembers what was previously asked, keeping log of past questions in same way as various messaging apps record conversations with family, friends and colleagues. It is like having access to a subject matter expert who helps move forward to next stage of curiosity faster.

It may sound as if I have been involved with GenAI for a long time. Reality is quite different. My first use of ChatGPT was a year ago and real usage to improve daily productivity has gained momentum in last few weeks.

This particular GenAI probe on 'history of Messaging' makes one more thing clear. While GenAI simplifies our lives by sparing us need to click-and-read links, it does not eliminate essential Process of Inquiry.

For example, in case of SMS, ChatGPT response on face value may make a person born after 2010 believe modern messaging was a simple technological evolution of mobile phones. It skips natural behavioral resistance that led to more innovation until messaging services got normalized.

GenAI enables faster learning but onus is still on us to benefit. It improves humanity's knowledge baseline by getting access to information simpler and faster. Our prosperity and development nevertheless relies on our ability to use this new baseline to propel to new heights. Afterall, knowledge alone is not power, how one puts it to use is real power!

(Note: all refernces to ChatGPT are based on actual conversations and are recorded in my chat history. Some assistance has also been taken from Co-pilot, Gemini and MetaAI.)

#HonestReflections #LifeMusings #FutureTech #GenAI #ChatGPT #Copilot #Gemini #MetaAI