AI is dominating our discourse. How’s it going though? Let’s recap my past six months from a production standpoint.

Artificial intelligence has largely enabled me and others this year to amplify our abilities. For me specifically this has meant learning how to use a language like Google App Script, or even to parse semantics of a language I’m not familiar with. (pro tip: Ask ChatGPT to work with your HTML).

I’ve always been curious about technology and have been a new adopter of things even if I’m not the “target audience”. This of course meant that I would jump right on board the AI train despite it’s shortcomings. As I’m sure you’ve heard, the time we’re in now is not dissimilar from the late 90s when the internet was just getting started. The boom and bust that came from this activity is what I’m wary of now, but also excited for. If AI is a train, the next station in my mind is the next round of artificial intelligence tools that we will have access to.

Month 1-2

I started this year out with a marketing apprenticeship. I worked closely with and learned from others who were interested in honing their marketing skills, as well as a highly qualified marketer. Compounded with other similar events, this experience set the stage for my current focus, which is on using low-code/no-code tools to increase access to hyperlocal goods, services, and information.

Month 3

By the time March rolled around, I was wondering what the rest of the year would shape up to be like. I was in the mood for taking big swings (I always am), and took a chance on doubling down my engagement with several of my projects. These all involve tools that I would begin to present to ChatGPT for parsing their languages and meaning.

Like I said, in March of this year I started using ChatGPT to work with code. I didn’t consider the full extent of what this meant though. The most useful way for me to use it in the moment was by inputting a block of code and asking ChatGPT to describe what that code is doing. This methodology opened up my eyes to the possibilities with such a tool. I was able to understand a language that I had no familiarity with. It was a game changer.

Month 4

Time passed and I began to wonder what else I could do with ChatGPT. Eventually, I started I started developing the Google App Scripts myself in a piecemeal way. I would take a snippet of code and ask why it’s doing what it’s doing, for example. This work has carried into my low-code/no-code development and and has extended into my personal life – meaning productivity is productivity is through the roof.

Month 5-6

I now feel like I am working in tandem with ChatGPT to work out complex issues with any particular block of code. I may start with a complex REGEX script and ask it to extend the functionality of it as my needs progress. This has meant being able to estimate how much time I can save based on how much time I need to commit to a project and what the project entails.

Of course, I am not the only one facing increased productivity. Plenty of people around the world, maybe even YOU, are considering how to incorporate ChatGPT and other AI tools into your workflow.

The Next Station

But what are we actually talking about here? Productivity means doing more with less. Sure, LLMs have the potential to increase productivity, but what can be done without them? As I’ve trudged through the code that’s been printed, I can’t help but think that my intent to use an LLM for a grand use-case will plateau. There can be a typical workflow in the code understanding process, but how many languages will I practically use? Especially once I’ve properly worked through those languages I’m already seeking to understand.

Beyond AI

I wonder though, how much of the productivity will be actually quantified, or how it will manifest. While I have gained meaningful amounts of time back through rote tasks that ChatGPT has performed at my whim, the product has been something I’ve sought to create, with ChatGPT acting as the intermediary to process the information being received.

I wonder if productivity is embedded within the way that we operate, rather than the tools that we use.