When you know more about a topic you're better equipped to filter out the BS. We all know this. I don't know about you, but ChatGPT (4.5, including deep research) has been a MASSIVE upgrade for me in this department.
As one very famous investor said "an entrepreneur's hardest job is determining who to take advice from". I think that applies to everyone, in all stages of life. Not only WHO you take advice from, but also WHAT advice you take from them (even trusted people aren't experts in everything).
I've been a ChatGPT user since its release, but I now find myself using it (4.5) multiple times a day. Way more than google at this point. Frankly when I find myself using google it's probably more of a reflexive thing; why on earth am I using google and searching for results when I could just ask Chat and get an ANSWER?
But that's not why I wanted to write this post. What's amazing me is that I'm going to Chat to answer questions that I would have previously gone to a human to answer (or at least to provide input on). Here's a few examples of how Chat has impacted me personally and professionally (real outcomes) over the last few weeks:
Mortgage broker - We've been in the market for a home for a while. I have a broker I've worked with who I think is good, I trust her. But, fundamentally she's a middle person. She's got her agenda. She'd going to get paid if we close a transaction with her (show me the incentives and I'll show you the outcomes!). I've been going to Chat to ask questions and explore alternative options. At this point Chat has helped me map out a plan that is likely to take us in another direction. We may do a financing with the broker, but it's possible we won't, or that it will take a different form than we originally planned. That's a big swing.
Physical trainer - I'm planning to do a serious bicycle ride later this summer that I am in no way prepared for. I've never really worked with a physical trainer before (I've never been a gym person), but that would seem like the logical path to pursue. That or spend a bunch of time trying to cobble together my own plan by googling and watching youtube videos. Chat 4.5 with Deep Research put together a day by day plan between now and the event for me based on where I live and a bunch of other factors. Done. No gym membership, no trainer, no premium content subscription, etc.
Recruiter - There are so many people out there that rely on representing themselves as an expert. I would put recruiters in that bucket. What are you really paying a recruiter to do? Yes, they need to source and vet candidates, but in order to do that effectively they need to have a deep understanding of who you're looking for, your business, your culture, etc. At lot of factors that most recruiters, especially external ones (contractors) are never going to grasp as well as you and your team. Chat has not only helped us hone our job posts, it's helped us refine the profile of who we're looking for and honestly it's functioned as a backstop on who we should be working with on the recruiting side. Armed with Chat we're asking ourselves how well a recruiter mirrors our plan, or understands our plan and can add to it?
I guess the thing here is that Chat is helping us get smarter at literally anything we want to get smarter at. What an amazing thing. Just a year ago, less than a year ago it wasn't able to do that. And as the saying goes, knowledge is power. I think overall it's leading to better/faster/cheaper outcomes and if we're all getting better outcomes in our personal and professional lives that means better things for everyone, at least over time.
Every single member of our team has access to ChatGPT and is (or should!) be using it on a daily basis. The future has always been unevenly distributed and right now seems to be a prime example of that. Maybe that will continue to be the case vis a vis Chat for some years to come, but I suspect that using it will simply be table stakes. It will be expected. Imagine interacting with someone in 5yrs who isn't leveraging AI? Which begs the question: why aren't we all using it today?