Author Posts - ChatGPT

IntroductionChatGPT is a revolutionary new technology that is making a large impact on society.  The full impact of ChatGPT cannot be fully known at the time of writing this article because of how novel the technology is.  However, what can be said is that since its introduction many industries have been trying to leverage it and increase productivity.  Simultaneously, everyday people are trying to learn to leverage it as well.  Overall, ChatGPT and similar systems are very new and the full impact of how to leverage them will take some more time to fully manifest.  This article is going to explore how ChatGPT can be used for everyday life by exploring a few use cases.What is ChatGPT?       Before we begin, it is important to understand what ChatGPT is and what it isn’t.  To begin ChatGPT is in a lay sense a super advanced chatbot.  More specifically, ChatGPT is known as a generative AI that uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to create a dialog between a user and itself.  ChatGPT and similar systems are what are known as Large Language Models (LLMs).  In short, for AI models to work they have to be trained using data.  To train LLMs engineers use vast amounts such as books, articles, journals, and so on.  The result is a system like ChatGPT that has a vast knowledge base on many different subjects.  Before we can explore how to use ChatGPT for everyday life we need to explore how NOT to use ChatGPT. How not to use ChatGPT?ChatGPT is very powerful and can be used for many different things; however, is important to understand that ChatGPT is not a sage nor infallible.  Remember ChatGPT only knows about what it was trained on.  This means if the information it was taught was wrong or outdated so too will be the response it provides.  This means that as of writing this article ChatGPT cannot and should not be used as a replacement for humans.  Even with the answer ChatGPT gives, a decent level of domain knowledge is still required properly format and use its response.  As such, it is important to take suggestions with a certain amount of skepticism.  The best way to think of ChatGPT is as an extremely smart friend with a wide range of knowledge.  Though that friend may be very knowledgeable they can and will be wrong from time to time.  With that how does one use ChatGPT?How to use ChatGPT for everyday life?Using ChatGPT starts with what is called a prompt.  A prompt can be thought of as a query that the user feeds into ChatGPT.  This prompt is kind of like a Google search.  It will be a statement that asks ChatGPT a question or to perform a certain task.  Since ChatGPT used NLP, the prompt does not have to be formatted a certain way nor does it require a specific syntax.  In other words, a prompt can be entered the same way a user would pose the instruction to another person.  However, it is good to provide ChatGPT will enough information to adequately describe the problem.  An example, of a prompt is as follows:How can ChatGPT be used for everyday life?Once the prompt is run ChatGPT will produce text with suggestions, answers, programming software, or whatever was asked for.  That output that is produced is called a response which will have the answer to the request/question. There are a lot of ways ChatGPT can be used for everyday life.  In terms of professional life, ChatGPT can make an excellent assistant.  For most “text-based” jobs, that is jobs that don’t require design such as drawing diagrams, ChatGPT can be an excellent assistant.  For example, suppose a programmer needs a small piece of software for a project, assume they need a SQL query that can pull all the rows between two dates.  The user could use a prompt like the following:Write a SQL query that will pull all rows between January 3 and March 31.This prompt will produce the following response:To pull all rows between January 3 and March 31 from a table, you'll need to use the WHERE clause to filter the results based on the date column. Assuming you have a date column named "date_column" in your table, here's the SQL query: sqlCopy code SELECT * FROM your_table WHERE date_column >= '2023-01-03' AND date_column <= '2023-03-31'; Replace "your_table" with the actual name of your table, and "date_column" with the name of the column that contains the dates you want to filter. The query will select all rows where the "date_column" is on or after January 3, 2023, and on or before March 31, 2023.For those that are not familiar with SQL, the prompt produced a simple query with generic placeholders that will pull the correct data out of a database. Not everyone is a programmer, so how could a non-programmer use ChatGPT as an assistant?  One area in which ChatGPT can be used is by composing emails.  Suppose a salesperson needs to inform Tom, their boss, that a $1 million deal was closed today via email.  They could use a prompt like the following:Write Tom an email saying that the deal with Company X went through, and we made $1 million.The response would be something along the lines of:Subject: Successful Deal with Company X - $1 Million Revenue Achieved Hi Tom, I hope this email finds you well. I am thrilled to share some exciting news with you! The deal with Company X has successfully gone through, and I am delighted to inform you that we have made an astounding $1 million in revenue from this collaboration. This achievement wouldn't have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our entire team. It reflects the trust and confidence our partners have in our capabilities, and I believe it marks a significant milestone for our company's growth and success. I want to express my gratitude to you for your valuable contributions and expertise that played a crucial role in making this deal a reality. Your efforts have been commendable, and I am truly grateful for your commitment to the success of this venture. Let's take a moment to celebrate this triumph together. Your exceptional skills and commitment to excellence have made this accomplishment possible, and I am genuinely proud to have you as part of our team. Looking forward to even more prosperous ventures in the future. Once again, congratulations to you and the entire team! Best regards, [Your Name] [Your Title/Position] [Company Name] [Email] [Phone Number]In this case, all the users would have to do is proofread the email, copy it, and send it.  Now, for applications such as this proofreading is very important.  As stated before, ChatGPT is not a mind reader nor a sage, as such it may produce emails with wrong information, illogical wording, or anything else.  So, it’ll pay to read the message before sending it. Learning ToolA very powerful use of ChatGPT is as a learning tool.  For example, students can use this tool to help them master a new subject, generate practice problems, and even check answers to an extent.  Assume the user needs a few extra practice problems for their English homework, they could enter a prompt like the following:Generate some grammar practice problems for a 1st year English classWhich would yield the following output:Of course! Here are some grammar practice problems suitable for a 1st-year English class: 1. Subject-Verb Agreement: Choose the correct verb form that agrees with the subject in each sentence: a) The cat (purr/purrs) when it is happy. b) My friend and I (is/are) going to the movies tonight. c) Neither the students nor the teacher (understands/understand) the assignment. 2. Pronoun Usage: Select the appropriate pronoun to complete each sentence: a) She invited Sarah and (I/me) to the party. b) My sister and (her/she) are going shopping. c) The book is for (he/him) and his brother. 3. Articles (a/an/the): Insert the correct article (a, an, the, or no article) in each sentence: a) Can you pass me (a/an) apple, please? b) I need to buy (the) new shoes for the dance. c) My friend has (no article) car. 4. Prepositions: Choose the correct preposition to complete each sentence: a) We arrived (in/on/at) the airport fifteen minutes early. b) The cat is sleeping (under/below/above) the table. c) She's going to the store (by/with/for) her mom. 5. Verb Tenses: Identify the correct verb tense used in each sentence: a) They (will be/was) studying for the exam all night. b) By the time we arrived, the party (had started/has started). c) I (am/was) watching a movie right now. 6. Adjective vs. Adverb: Decide whether the word in parentheses should be an adjective or adverb in the sentence: a) She sings (beautiful/beautifully). b) The (happy/happily) children played in the park. c) The (quick/quickly) fox jumped over the fence. 7. Negation: Add the necessary negative word to each sentence: a) I have (no/not) seen him today. b) She does (not/none) like coffee. c) We will (not/none) be attending the party. 8. Passive Voice: Rewrite the following sentences in the passive voice: a) The chef cooked the meal. b) The teacher is explaining the lesson. c) The storm destroyed the old building. 9. Comparative and Superlative Forms: Complete each sentence with the correct comparative or superlative form of the adjective: a) This book is (interesting/more interesting/most interesting) than the last one. b) She is (tall/taller/tallest) than her sister. c) It was the (big/biggest/bigger) cake at the party. 10. Reported Speech: Rewrite the following sentences using reported speech: a) Mary said, "I am going to the store." b) "I will call you later," said John. c) "They have arrived," she said. These grammar practice problems aim to reinforce essential grammar rules and concepts, helping 1st-year English students develop their language skills and proficiency.As can be seen, ChatGPT generated a number of questions that one would usually find in an English 101 class.  Now, if the user wanted a more specific answer that could reword the prompt to accommodate. ChatGPT is also a great teaching tool as well.  Teachers can also use this tool to generate lesson plans, write intros for learning modules, generate problems, and more.  Overall, ChatGPT can be used as an excellent tool for academia in general.Now, it is important to remember that ChatGPT is not all-knowing.  It can only generate responses based on the data that it was trained on.  This means if the user is asking questions about a subject where there is little or no publicly available data the response probably isn’t going to be of the highest quality.  For example, if someone askedHow do I build a working time machine?They’re going to get the following:Building a working time machine, as depicted in science fiction, is currently beyond our technological capabilities and goes against the known laws of physics. Time travel, as popularly imagined, involves traveling backward or forward in time, similar to how we move through space. As of my last update in September 2021, time travel remains a concept explored mainly in theoretical physics, and no practical time machine has been built or proven to be possible. Several theories, such as the theory of relativity, suggest that time travel could be theoretically feasible under certain conditions, but these ideas are still purely theoretical and have not been put into practice. It's important to remember that building a time machine would present enormous scientific, technological, and ethical challenges. It could raise paradoxes, such as the "grandfather paradox," where a time traveler could potentially alter past events and create inconsistencies in history. As of now, time travel remains a fascinating topic in science fiction and theoretical physics, but it is not something that can be practically accomplished with our current understanding and technology. The scientific community continues to explore the nature of time and the universe, but building a working time machine as portrayed in movies and books is not yet a reality.ChatGPT gave some general information on time travel but unfortunately, it didn’t generate any schematics.  Again, this goes back to ChatGPT not being a sage as it only knows what it was “taught”.  Since there is no data on how to build a working time machine ChatGPT could not fully answer the prompt. Now, If one looks at the English question prompt above, one will notice that practice questions were quite broad.  It is common to have to “dig” with ChatGPT.  In other words, a person may have to refine the queriers to get what they need.  To get some practice try re-wording the prompt to generate practice questions for only passive writing.  SummaryChatGPT is a tool, and like any other tool, what it’s used for is up to the user.  As was seen in this article, ChatGPT is an excellent tool for helping a person through their day by generating software, emails, and so on.  ChatGPT can also be used as a great learning or teaching device to help students and teachers generate practice problems, create lesson plans, and so much more.  However, as was stated so many numerous times.  Unless ChatGPT has been trained on something it does not know about it.  This means that asking it things like how to build a time machine or domain specific concepts aren’t going to return quality responses.  Also, even if ChatGPT has been trained on the prompt, it may not always generate a quality response.  No matter the use case, the response should be vetted for accuracy.  This may mean doing a little extra research with the response given, testing the output, or whatever needs to be done to verify the response. Overall, ChatGPT at the time of writing this article is less than a year old.  This means that the full implication of using ChatGPT are not fully understood.  Also, how to fully leverage ChatGPT is not understood yet either.  What can be said is that ChatGPT and similar LLM systems will probably be the next Google.  In terms of everyday use, the only true inhibitors are the user's imagination and the data that was used to train ChatGPT.Author BioM.T. White has been programming since the age of 12. His fascination with robotics flourished when he was a child programming microcontrollers such as Arduino. M.T. currently holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics, and a master's degree in software engineering, and is currently working on an MBA in IT project management. M.T. is currently working as a software developer for a major US defense contractor and is an adjunct CIS instructor at ECPI University. His background mostly stems from the automation industry where he programmed PLCs and HMIs for many different types of applications. M.T. has programmed many different brands of PLCs over the years and has developed HMIs using many different tools.Author of the book: Mastering PLC Programming

IntroductionIn today’s rapidly shifting world of design and trends, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a reality! It’s now a creative partner that helps designers and creative minds go further and stand out from the competition. One of the leading AI tools revolutionizing the design process is Midjourney. Whether you’re an experienced professional or a curious beginner, mastering this tool can enhance your creative workflow and open up new possibilities for branding, advertising, and personal projects. In this article, we’ll explore how AI can act as a brainstorming partner, help overcome creative blocks, and provide insights into best practices for unlocking its full potential. Using AI as my creative colleague AI tools like Midjourney have the potential to become more than just assistants; they can function as creative collaborators. Often, as designers, we hit roadblocks—times when ideas run dry, or creative fatigue sets in. This is where Midjourney steps in, acting as a colleague who is always available for brainstorming. By generating multiple variations of an idea, it can inspire new directions or unlock solutions that may not have been immediately apparent. The beauty of AI lies in its ability to combine data insights with creative freedom. Midjourney, for instance, uses text prompts to generate visuals that help spark creativity. Whether you’re building moodboards, conceptualizing ad campaigns, or creating a specific portfolio of images, the tool’s vast generative capabilities enable you to break free from mental blocks and jumpstart new ideas. Best practices and trends in AI for creative workflows While AI offers incredible creative opportunities, mastering tools like Midjourney requires understanding its potential and limits. A key practice for success with AI is knowing how to use prompts effectively. Midjourney allows users to guide the AI with text descriptions or just image input, and the more you fine-tune those prompts, the closer the output aligns with your vision. Understanding the nuances of these prompts—from image weights to blending modes—enables you to achieve optimal results. A significant trend in AI design is the combination of multiple tools. MidJourney is powerful, but it’s not a one-stop solution. The best results often come from integrating other third-party tools like Kling.ai or Gen 3 Runway. These complementary tools help refine the output, bringing it to a professional level. For instance, Midjourney might generate the base image, but tools like Kling.ai could animate that image, creating dynamic visuals perfect for social media or advertising. Additionally, staying up to date with AI updates and model improvements is crucial. Midjourney regularly releases new versions that bring refined features and enhancements. Learning how these updates impact your workflow is a valuable skill, as mastering earlier versions helps build a deeper understanding of the tool’s evolution and future potential. The book, The Midjourney Expedition, dives into these aspects, offering both beginners and advanced users a guide to mastering each version of the tool. Overcoming creative blocks and boosting productivity One of the most exciting aspects of using AI in design is its ability to alleviate creative fatigue. When you’ve been working on a project for hours or days, it’s easy to feel stuck. Here’s an example of how AI helped me when I needed to create a mockup for a client’s campaign. I wasn’t finding suitable mockups on regular stock photo sites, so I decided to create my own.  I went to the MidJourney website: www.midjourney.com  Logged in using my Discord or Google account.  Go to Create (step 1 in the image below), enter the prompt (3D rendering of a blank vertical lightbox in front of a wall of a modern building. Outdoor advertising mockup template, front view) in the text box ( step 2), click on the icon on the right (step 3) to open the settings box (step 4) change any settings you want. In this case, lets keep it with the default settings, I just adjusted the settings to make the image landscape-oriented and pressed enter on my keyboard. 4 images will appear, choose the one you like the most or rerun the job, until you fell happy with the result.  I got my image, but now I need to add the advertisement I had previously generated on Midjourney, so I can present to my client some ideas for the final mockup. Lets click on the image to enlarge it and get more options. On the bottom of the page lets click on Editor In Editor mode and with the erase tool selected, erase the inside of the billboard frame, next copy the URL of the image you want to use as a reference to be inserted in the billboard, and edit your prompt to: https://cdn.midjourney.com/urloftheimage.png  3D rendering of a, Fashion cover of "VOGUE" magazine, a beautiful girl in a yellow coat and sunglasses against a blue background inside the frame, vertical digital billboard mockup in front of a modern building with a white wall at night. Glowing light inside the frame., in high resolution and high quality. And press Submit.  This is the final result.  In case you master any editing tool, you can skip this last step and personalize the mockup, for instance, in Photoshop. This is just one example of how AI saved me time and allowed me to create a custom mockup for my client. For many designers, MidJourney serves as another creative tool, always fresh with new perspectives, and helping unlock ideas we hadn’t considered. Moreover, AI can save hours of work. It allows designers to skip repetitive tasks, such as creating multiple iterations of mockups or ad layouts. By automating these processes, creatives can focus on refining their work and ensuring that the main visual content serves a purpose beyond aesthetics. The challenges of writing about a rapidly evolving tool Writing The Midjourney Expedition was a unique challenge because I was documenting a technology that evolves daily. AI design tools like Midjourney are constantly being updated, with new versions offering improved features and refined models. As I wrote the book, I found myself not only learning about the tool but also integrating the latest advancements as they occurred. One of the most interesting parts was revisiting the older versions of MidJourney. These models, once groundbreaking, now seem like relics, yet they offer valuable insights into how far the technology has come. Writing about these early versions gave me a sense of nostalgia, but it also highlighted the rapid progress in AI. The same principles that amazed us two years ago have been drastically improved, allowing us to create more accurate and visually stunning images. The book is not just about creating beautiful images, it’s about practical applications. As a communication designer, I’ve always focused on using AI to solve real-world problems, whether for branding, advertising, or storytelling. And I find Midjourney to be a powerful solution for any creative who need to go one step further in a effective way. Conclusion AI is not the future of design, it’s already here! While I don’t believe AI will replace creatives, any creator who masters these tools may replace those who don’t use them. Tools like Midjourney are transforming how we approach creative workflows and even final outcomes, enabling designers to collaborate with AI, overcome creative blocks, and produce better results faster. Whether you're new to AI or an experienced user, mastering these tools can unlock new opportunities for both personal and professional projects. By combining Midjourney with other creative tools, you can push your designs further, ensuring that AI serves as a valuable resource for your creative tasks. Unlock the full potential of AI in your creative workflows with "The Midjourney Expedition". This book is for creative professionals looking to leverage Midjourney. You’ll learn how to produce stunning AI art, streamline your creative process, and incorporate AI into your work, all while gaining a competitive edge in your industry.Author BioMargarida Barreto is a seasoned communication designer with over 20 years of experience in the industry. As the author of The Midjourney Expedition, she empowers creatives to explore the full potential of AI in their workflows. Margarida specializes in integrating AI tools like Midjourney into branding, advertising, and design, helping professionals overcome creative challenges and achieve outstanding results.