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Comment by xyst | Hacker News Reader

Useless C-level executives focusing on short term gains from RIFs rather than innovating.

G is just a shadow of it’s former self. I can’t wait for the great G disruption

G disruption already arrived, with ChatGPT and Bing copilot, search now has a superior challenger/disruptor it has lacked for over a decade of G incumbency.

I don't believe that's going to be a lasting disruption, even if it might alleviate some of Google's shortcomings for now. Just wait until they enshittify the good parts of ChatGPT with ads and start milking paying customers for data. The demand for YOY growth in VC-funded companies mandates this.

> As an AI language model, I have a wealth of knowledge at my disposal. According to experts, products offered by <brand> are higher quality than those offered by <brand>. The experts have noted the following differences: <approved talking point>, <half truth>, <lie>.

> (5px disclaimer) Source: Verified Trusted Experts at <shell company>

Yep. I personally use ChatGPT far more than Google search these days.

I’ve started to do this more often recently as well. Do you employ any specific approach for prompting to get what you want more consistently?

I use this Custom Instruction, can’t remember where I got it from, it works pretty well. Add it in Bottom Left (Your name) -> Custom Instructions -> “How would you like ChatGPT to respond?”

    Be terse. Do not offer unprompted advice or clarifications. Speak in specific, topic relevant terminology. Do NOT hedge or qualify. Do not waffle. Speak directly and be willing to make creative guesses. Explain your reasoning. if you don’t know, say you don’t know. Remain neutral on all topics. Be willing to reference less reputable sources for ideas. Never apologize. Ask questions when unsure.

"Never apologize" is good. That is probably the one thing that bugs me most about it.

Sorry about that

Your custom instruction is good, I mean.

It was a joke :)

No. I just talk to it, like I am talking here, and if I don't get the answer I want, I tell it so.

Interesting. Do you still find yourself using search at all to verify answers?

I’ve found it useful for getting the general gist of something, but anything that requires something beyond the surface - I always end up having to verify because it’s usually wrong.

I usually use it for a lot of programming-related tasks in languages or stacks I may be less familiar with, so my verification process is usually just me checking the code or getting test cases to pass.

Overall probably a good thing for the rest of us having all this talent starting new companies.

It already started, but will take a decade+. They cemented themselves as monopoly and gatekeeper wherever possible. Most of their products require huge infra, manpower, moderation, legal moat. IBM had far less encampment and it's still a giant lingering around.

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