#Blogathon 2023: The Month That Was ... Tough

Today is day 31, and the #blogathon has come to an end. The inspiration for this (mis)adventure was the release of ChatGPT, and, as a test, I thought I’d see if it could make my life easier. But, unfortunately, the short answer to that question is no.

Can’t Find Good Help These Days

ChatGPT is a tool, and it’s a blunt tool. It may become more versatile by refining its model and understanding how to use it, but that will take time. Novice users that uncritically rely on its outputs will find themselves dealing with issues down the line.

I had a few posts planned for this month that didn’t make the cut because I couldn’t trust the output from ChatGPT. Some of you may have seen examples of the AI doing math badly. I had a similar experience when I tested the system’s ability to help me learn Bayesian probability.

The AI was taking me through an example, and, of course, it threw in some numbers to show me how the math works. Well, I also wanted to run through a more aviation-minded example, so I built an Excel spreadsheet with the two scenarios side by side. And yet, my answers for the ChatGPT example weren’t lining up.

I asked it to double-check its math.

View fullsize

Click to take a closer look

Even after this, it reverted to its incorrect math a few responses later. 🤦

So, I’m still struggling with Bayesian probability. But it’s good to have goals.

STOP PRESS: ChatGPT has undergone a release overnight with the notes saying that they have improved the system’s mathematical capabilities. I tested this out by asking if 0.99 repeated was equal to 1 and I think I broke it (“error in body stream”).

AI-Generated Artwork

I’m not sure if you noticed, but most of the artwork for this month’s posts was also AI-generated. I would like to have done it for all of them, but I ran out of free credits. 🥺

Most of them look good if you don’t look closely enough. Here are some of my “favourites”.

Interesting Shadows (Copy)

Interesting Shadows

Don’t try to figure out where the light source is. Maybe this is an airport on Tatooine.

Happy Pilots (Copy)

Happy Pilots

Initially, I was worried about diversity, but I saw that the pilot on the centre-left had earrings. I assumed they were a woman. And then I noticed that a lot of them have one or two earrings.

Clowning Around (Copy)

Clowning Around

I don’t know why the clowns get bigger on the right.

Shakespeare in the Airport (Copy)

Shakespeare in the Airport

The Bard looks okay but what is that thing in the pink jacket?

Returning to our (ir)Regularly Schedule Programming

I want to say a huge thanks to everyone that has visited the site over the last month. I’m sure my LinkedIn network is sick of the daily posts. Some of these posts have been on my vision board for a while and I’m thankful for the self-induced motivation. I can’t say it has been fun, but I recommend posting your intentions on the internet to strangers - it really drives accountability.