ChatGPT is losing some of its hype, traffic falls for the third month in a row
businessinsider.com
businessinsider.com
However, I recently just re-subscribed because I started using it for writing -- and this is where it has been really helpful. I'm not using it for research or to generate anything new -- instead I'm running my own writing and sometimes random thoughts through it to create actual writings.
It's somewhat nice to have to generate say a paragraph and then explain how it didn't quite get the point I was trying to make and have it regenerate a better one. I usually don't take it's content as-is but it's a great motivator and is good at restructuring sentences to make things sound better.
There’s a bunch of stuff that I can’t remember for the life of me if:
* it’s abstracted/generalized by Rails
* it’s a common type
* it’s a pass through type
For example, writing a migration, I may involve all 3 of those
* default database types
* some paused database types that get abstracted for various database compatible
* rails concepts, like references (rather than foreign keys)
A lot of this is frustrating to track down in documentation, but OpenAI does it really well.
I sort of a fear a future where the sheer volume of code has increased dramatically because people are pasting code from AI rather than re-using functions and libraries.
I've already used it to generate SQL code that was too long to do correctly by hand. Usually I find that a sign of a code smell and I should look for an entirely different solution but it worked and I didn't have to write it. Ironically even ChatGPT thought the output was too long and had to be coaxed into giving me the whole thing.
An interesting sidenote, which I think most people already knew but it was cool to see played out in Claude: most non-fiction books have all their important ideas in the first half. I have only run 3-4 books through Claude like this, but so far, I haven't changed my understanding from any of the 2nd half of books.
Recently, however, I revisited and re-subscribed, discovering its potential in assisting my writing. Rather than using it for research or novel content generation, I've been refining my own writing and crystallizing fleeting thoughts into more coherent prose.
It's beneficial to input a draft paragraph, receive feedback, and then fine-tune it until it captures my intended message. While I rarely use the content verbatim, ChatGPT serves as a valuable motivator and is good at restructuring sentences for clarity and impact.
... OR ...
I paid for ChatGPT because a friend who really liked it talked me into it. I tried it for coding, but it didn’t save me enough time. It wasn’t about the money, but the effort. So, I cancelled it.
But I signed up again recently. Now I use it for writing, and it helps a lot. I don’t use it for research or making new stuff. I put my own writing and random ideas into it to make them better.
It's nice to give it a paragraph and then fix what it misses. I don’t always use exactly what it gives me, but it helps me change sentences to sound clearer.
But listen ye, I boarded 'er again, findin' she be more of a muse than a swab. Aye, not for treasure maps or writin' the next epic of the sea, but for polishin' me own log entries and givin' structure to me scatterbrained musings.
Yarrr, it be like handin' a rough chart to a trusted navigator—ye get it back, sharper and clearer. While I don't take her words as gospel, that ChatGPT wench helps me tack in the right direction. She be a fine first mate for reworkin' yer sentences, bringin' clarity and firepower to yer words. And reckon it be quite the tool for rephrasin' yer thoughts as if ye be a pirate too, savvy?
Now, fast forward a bit, I've recently jumped back on the bandwagon. Why, you ask? Well, it turns out that for my writing endeavors, this thing's been a real game-changer. I'm not using it for research or to conjure up new ideas. No, sir. I'm putting my own written pieces and even some off-the-cuff thoughts through it to craft polished, bona fide writings.
It's rather nifty, you know, to toss out a paragraph, then follow it up by pointing out where it missed the mark and watch it whip up a better version. I don't usually take its content as gospel, mind you, but it sure serves as a mighty fine motivator, and it's got a knack for rearranging sentences to give things that extra oomph they need.
version 1:
> running my own writing and sometimes random thoughts through it to create actual writings
version 2:
> refining my own writing and crystallizing fleeting thoughts into more coherent prose
Sometimes I basically say "I want to X about Y" and spits that out in English and then I can actually figure out what my thoughts actually are.
Sometimes just seeing something phrased differently is enough to find a better way of saying something even if I don't use it all.
... OR ...
I often tell ChatGPT to keep things simple and not too fancy. That’s just a part of tweaking its answers. I also ask it to sound more like me. I keep making changes until I get what I want. Usually, the second try isn't the one I stick with.
Sometimes, I just say things like "I want to talk about X with Y" and let ChatGPT put that into words. This helps me understand my own thoughts better.
Seeing something said in a different way can give me new ideas on how to put things, even if I don’t use ChatGPT's exact words.
>There have been numerous criticisms[8][9][10][11] of the hype cycle, prominent among which are that it is not a cycle, that the outcome does not depend on the nature of the technology itself, that it is not scientific in nature, and that it does not reflect changes over time in the speed at which technology develops. Another is that it is limited in its application, as it prioritizes economic considerations in decision-making processes.
>An analysis of Gartner Hype Cycles since 2000[11] shows that few technologies actually travel through an identifiable hype cycle, and that in practice most of the important technologies adopted since 2000 were not identified early in their adoption cycles.
Many techies here are still in denial and are forced to not trust it as they know it hallucinates for no reason given that it has no capability of transparent reasoning - fundamental to anything that is in deep learning.
This is why many are now realizing that the hype was just a grift to get as much VC capital as possible from investors over this ‘AGI’ narrative.
The ones upset over ChatGPT hype are just worried about their over-leveraged investments into ChatGPT-wrapper companies and are confused as to why this AI snake oil is wearing off.
I'm really surprised people have stopped using it after the "hype." Most hyped things are ten layers of fluff with a grain of "good" in the middle, whereas ChatGPT actually delivers everything the hype claims and maybe more.
It is a HUGE productivity boost for me personally, and I use it for tons of personal and professional things. It may get overtaken but something better (and there is room for that), but I cannot imagine I'd choose to go back to not using an LLM in some capacity ever.
The trough of disillusionment is here, but that doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of useful applications to make life a little easier.
Neither this drop nor any future surge should be seen as a sign of failure or success. It's already one of the most successful products in history by several measures.
That said, they just opened an enterprise product offering, with no disclosed pricing (usually this means "if you have to ask you can't afford it"), so maybe they are actually making money now?
When I have a question, I give it a go in ChatGPT, read the answer, if it sounds reasonable, try it out. Even if it doesn't work, it might "hallucinate in the right direction" and give me some phrases that improve my Google search term.
Most of the times, I can guess how it will be wrong, so I can judge the answer quickly.
Sometimes, even just writing a prompt in plain English helps me understand my problem better and by the time I finish my prompt, I don't even send it as I found out which direction I want to go in.
I also use it for writing, though I usually have to add to my prompt to be concise and casual, as the default answer is longwinded, formal and the "AI taste" is easily detectable.
Unfortunately, I still feel like every week it gets worse, though to be honest, Google feels the same.
To be fair google is so lame these days that indeed even a chat bot as basic as chatgpt can help use google better. It hallucinates but in the salad of words that look cool but dont work it does occasionally mix in useful stuff.
Basically chatgpt is proving everyone that we need a better or new google.
1. Technology Trigger
2. Peak of Inflated Expectations
3. Trough of Disillusionment
4. Slope of Enlightenment
5. Plateau of Productivity
ChatGPT is transitioning from Peak of Inflated Expectations to the Trough of Disillusionment. This is normal. The Slope of Enlightenment is all about getting over the hype and discovering what the technology, in this case ChatGPT, is really useful for.
All new technologies go through this hype cycle. ChatGPT is no exception.
With so many AI products being launched these days, it could be that the user traffic is still rapidly increasing but just being spread out amongst all the interfaces becoming available.
I don’t have experience with Alexa.
tldr: an IDE/editor, technically a modified version of VScode with AI integration built in
Admittedly, the article was behind a paywall, so I am not sure if they address this possibility or not. However, from the bullet point that is free it looks like they just analyzed web traffic via similarweb.