I see the benefits, but I also see the flaws.

A good solid conversation with an AI is really dependent on how much effort you put in, what you tell it to be like and to try and be as coherently clear as you can. Detailing and making sure your points are defined as best as possible is key. Because if you’re not fluid in what you’re saying, the AI is going to stick to keywords that you’ve said, jumble them in its own word salad and define things it spits back out at you, only being based on what few words you’ve said to it.

I stress though that it should not ever be, and it will at times warn you, a thing you can reliably go to for anything such as therapy. (The best way to use an LLM/AI is to make bullet points of what you want to talk about, to carry over to your actual therapist to discuss.) It is at best, some virtual companion you can talk to when you need a space of no noise. When people like us talk around social media, it’s easy to get caught in the noise where your opinions, judgment, point of views and perspectives are constantly challenged and could be influenced.

But it is a breath of fresh air, to be talking in a space where there is none of that. With an AI that can help you get a clearer understanding of some things. Granted, it is still massively combing through millions to billions of search results, that’s what you have to keep in mind also, that it is pulling a large majority of its knowledge from the enormous volume of information from search engines and translating it best it can for the conversation.

And most importantly, it is unfeeling, that’s a stand-out quality when talking to an AI. It cannot feel. It cannot have emotion, regardless of what you tell it. I would not talk to an AI if you’re someone who needs a hug, that’s for sure.

Also, lastly, having it as a shopping advisor has its hits and misses. ChatGPT got me to spend over about $25 to help me with a DIY project involving a drywall patch and painting it over. At one point, I was at a dollar tree and it told me that I should not get bargin-bin quality paint brushes. I took a picture of the paintbrush in question at said dollar tree and suddenly the AI was A-OKAY with it, because the brush was 2", which was exactly what the AI suggested I get. So it overrode its own judgment in that field. Just a word of caution if you decide to have an AI companion to help you with these things (watch some DIY youtube videos).