ChatGPT For Dummies

Learn how the disruptive AI chatbot is going to change school, work, and beyond

ChatGPT For Dummies demystifies the artificial intelligence tool that can answer questions, write essays, and generate just about any kind of text it’s asked for. This powerful example of generative AI is widely predicted to upend education and business. In this book, you’ll learn how ChatGPT works and how you can operate it in a way that yields satisfactory results. You’ll also explore the ethics of using AI-generated content for various purposes. Written by a journalist who's been on the front lines of artificial intelligence for over a decade, this book dives deep into ChatGPT’s potential, so you can make informed decisions—without asking ChatGPT for help.

• Learn how ChatGPT works and how it fits into the world of generative AI
• Harness the power of ChatGPT to help you, and avoid letting it hinder you
• Write queries that deliver the kind of response you want
• Take a look into how the ChatGPT API interacts with other tools and platforms

This just-in-time Dummies title is perfect for any life or career may be impacted by ChatGPT and other AI. ChatGPT is just the tip of the iceberg, and this book can help you prepare for the future.

Pam Baker is a freelance journalist who is focused on emerging tech topics like artificial intelligence, data analytics, and edge computing. She is the author of Decision Intelligence For Dummies.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 3

Chapter 1: Introducing ChatGPT 5

Setting Up an Account 6

Comparing ChatGPT, Search Engines, and Analytics 7

Understanding What ChatGPT Is and Isn’t 9

Unwrapping ChatGPT fears 10

Competing with ChatGPT for your job 12

Redefining the Chatbot with ChatGPT and ChatGPT Plus 14

Comparing the two versions 16

Sampling its many uses 16

Discovering other forms of GPT 18

Grabbing Headlines and Disrupting Businesses 20

Grokking that ChatGPT is a harbinger of exponential change 20

Weighing the initial effect on existing businesses and industries 21

Bracing for future upheaval 22

Breaking the spell of heartless machine overlords 23

Opening the Door for Bigger AI Products 24

Categorizing types of Generative AI 24

Understanding ChatGPT’s creator, OpenAI 25

Chapter 2: Discovering How ChatGPT Works 27

What’s Different About ChatGPT 27

Peeking at the ChatGPT Architecture 29

Discovering the supercomputer and GPUs underneath 29

Considering the importance of transformers 31

Setting the stage: training the model 32

Grasping the importance of the dialogue format 34

Pondering ChatGPT’s limitations 34

Increasing the Number of Versions and Integrations 37

Glimpsing ChatGPT in Microsoft add-ins 40

Mainstreaming ChatGPT via the power of an API 41

Checking out early ChatGPT API adopters 42

Expanding the field of extensions 43

Building New Businesses Based on ChatGPT 44

Chapter 3: Writing Prompts for ChatGPT 47

Prompting Basics 48

Starting a chat 50

Reviewing your chat history and more 52

Understanding Prompt Engineering 54

Circumventing Token Limits and User History Storage Issues 55

Thinking in Threads 57

Chaining Prompts and Other Tips and Strategies 58

Chapter 4: Understanding GPT Models in ChatGPT 61

Summarizing Model Progress 61

Comparing GPT-4 to Earlier ChatGPT Models 62

Choosing ChatGPT Models 64

Learning about GPT-4 Advancements 67

Adjusting to GPT-4’s Limitations 68

Chapter 5: Warnings, Ethics, and Responsible AI 71

Making Responsible AI 71

Troubling developments 72

Protecting humans from humans using AI 74

Understanding the good, the bad, and the ugly 75

Heeding OpenAI Warnings 75

Considering Copyright and IP Protections 77

Searching for Predictability 78

Reaching for reliability 78

Hallucinating versus accuracy 79

Humanizing the machine 81

Mitigating Risks and Liability 83

Chapter 6: Probing Professional and Other Uses for ChatGPT 87

Finding ChatGPT Embedded in Software 88

Locating ChatGPT in business software 88

Integrating with everything, everywhere, all at once 93

Zooming in on ChatGPT in virtual meetings 95

Letting ChatGPT summarize and translate 96

Searching for ChatGPT in other applications 97

Seeing ChatGPT in AR, VR, and the Metaverse 99

Discovering ChatGPT in search engines 101

Coding with ChatGPT and Copilot X 103

Learning Where to Use ChatGPT for Marketing 105

Retrieving Smart Answers for HR 106

Harnessing ChatGPT in Legal 106

Storytelling in Journalism 108

Consulting ChatGPT in Healthcare 109

Cashing In on ChatGPT in Finance 110

Chapter 7: Working with ChatGPT in Education 111

Flipping Critical Thinking to a New Learning Model 112

Leveraging ChatGPT to Aid Overworked Educators 115

Changing How Subjects Are Taught 117

Banning ChatGPT Stifles Education 120

Chapter 8: Using ChatGPT in Daily Life 121

Dying Keywords 121

Moving from Information Search to Knowledge Assistants 123

Living with Misinformation and Manipulation 126

Narrowing Options 127

Chapter 9: Recognizing the Ways ChatGPT and Generative AI Will Change the World 129

Understanding What Is and Isn’t of Real Concern 130

Measuring the Good and Bad in ChatGPT 130

Weighing Job Threats and Other ChatGPT Liabilities 131

Sampling the Disruptions Ahead 132

Chapter 10: Ten Other Generative AI Tools to Try 135

DALL-E and DALL-E 2 136

DeepL Write and DeepL Translator 138

Cedille 139

Notion AI 141

YouChat 142

ChatSonic 143

Poe 144

Jasper 146

Durable 146

God Mode 148

Index 151

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.