ChatGPT & Friends: The Cool Kids boosting my productivity

For me, a new generation of “intelligent” tools is replacing the older ones that relied on earlier versions of “machine learning” technologies.

First, it was Otter, and then Grammarly. 

Now, OpenAI has stepped in, effectively replacing both services. Previously, I was paying $22 a month for both Otter and Grammarly. Now, I spend $20/month on ChatGPT, which I use in conjunction with MacWhisper and MacGPT. Additionally, I allocate $10/month for MidJourney.

By incorporating OpenAI, the Descript App, MidJourney, and Poe, I’ve crafted an entirely revamped workflow that elevates my productivity. To enhance accuracy, I’ve established specific prompts to guide my searches. Most of my writing is done on Lex. Page, while Sudowrite remains my preferred platform for creative ideation. (Disclosure)

For summarizing PDF files, I turn to Claude (from Anthropic), which excels at the task. It’s rapidly become my favorite method for summarizing SEC documents. Soon, I aim to refine Claude’s focus on the “footnotes.”

I also process podcast audio with MacWhisper and then use Claude for summarization. This approach saves me from listening to prolonged discussions. There are just too many podcasts out there, and ironically, my own approach to podcasts is what’s preventing me from producing more of them.

Currently, I’m on the basic plans for both Poe and Descript, but this might change. I’d gladly pay for Poe, especially if they introduced it as a browser extension, simplifying its use. It would be advantageous if they could collaborate with other AI providers, offering a consolidated package for a monthly fee.

Descript excels at transcribing podcasts and interviews. While it’s not perfect, it’s impressive for a tool that’s technically “free.” Of course, “free” is relative. I provide it with my voice and data to enhance its capabilities. In turn, they contribute to the “OpenAI” corpus, making it even more intelligent.

This dynamic is reminiscent of how our interactions enriched Google, leading to increased profits for Googlers. Similarly, our follows, likes, and comments enabled platforms like Facebook and Instagram to hyper-target us with advertisements. Ultimately, we face a choice: to engage with technology or to abstain. I’m acutely aware of the trade-offs involved when leveraging these tools without direct payment.

After all, nothing is truly free.

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Software tools evolve with the changes in technology and the underlying capabilities of computing platforms available to us. It might seem obvious, but just as technology influences and shapes us, we similarly impact technology. This has both positive and negative effects. The advent of search might have made it easy for us to access all the information, but it also reshaped our relationship with information.

Nicholas Carr, in his seminal essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” highlighted how the emergence of search and the always-on internet changed our consumption of information. “My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles,” he writes.

These shifts are part of how technology evolves and how we adapt alongside it. Carr, in the same essay, shares an anecdote about Friedrich Nietzsche. In 1882, Nietzsche bought a typewriter because his deteriorating vision made it difficult for him to focus on the page. He learned touch typing and could write with his eyes closed.

One of Nietzsche’s friends, a composer, noticed a change in the style of his writing. His already terse prose had become even tighter, more telegraphic. “Perhaps you will through this instrument even take to a new idiom,” the friend wrote in a letter, noting that, in his own work, his “‘thoughts’ in music and language often depend on the quality of pen and paper.”

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Personal productivity tools are, more often than not, skeuomorphic. That’s why our apps resemble our old notepads. Our writing tools are inspired by the typewriter, and our keyboards replicate the typewriter’s design. I am old enough to have used a typewriter, and with the evolution of technology, I began writing on computers. First, there was WordStar, followed by WordPerfect, and then Microsoft Word. They were all influenced by typewriters, and with each generation, these tools evolved — introducing dictionaries, thesauruses, and spell checkers.

The internet conditioned us for collaboration, and our writing tools mirrored that. The rise of the Social Internet deepened the idea of collaboration. There’s a reason why Google Docs has become so popular, as have document-wiki-productivity-tool hybrids like Notion. The emergence of “augmented intelligence” indicates that our productivity tools will evolve again.

I, for one, don’t mind seeking a second opinion from an “AI” or using it for “grammatical corrections” or even for research. I don’t want AI to write for me, but it can be a valuable co-pilot in my journey. Of course, others will utilize it differently — just as they do with collaborative productivity tools.

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And just as search and social redefined how we interact with information, so will these new AI tools. By integrating these tools, I’ve experienced a boost in personal productivity. My usage suggests that, if not today, then soon, these AI tools will reshape how we engage with information, altering our personal workflows and enhancing productivity.

PS: How have you been capitalizing on these new AI tools in your work? Is there an aspect I might be missing or not optimizing fully?

September 24, 2023. San Francisco

Why I love MacWhisper

Disclosure: Lex.Page is funded by True Ventures, where I am a partner emeritus. I am an angel investor in Sudowrite.