Learnings from my experiences with ChatGPT, Conversational AI and what it thinks of the dumpster-fire that is Earth in 2024.
What's in here
It's important to note that I am not an early adopter. I'd rather focus my energy and personal time on things that impact me directly but since the release of ChatGPT, I can no longer ignore its influence nor can I resist the urge to have a little fun with this Natural Language Processing (NLP).
ChatGPT: Late bloomer
After a direct report started using it to understand the UX logic behind different types of filter mechanisms and after a PM suggested we use Open AI to generate interface copy, I got curious about how effective this tool is and whether AI was a replacement for humans. So I made an account for myself and tried it out for the first time. Naturally, the first question I asked was, "What will cause the world to end in 5 years?" and apparently, there are 5 things that could destroy the earth:
If you were to ask, "What could cause humans to become extinct?", you'd get practically the same 5 speculative answers to that hypothetical question. When I was asked by a PM to create German text using ChatGPT, I tried it and discovered that it still translated the pronouns into formal grammar. I then had to ask it to redo the text using the informal directive but despite this my native German-speaking colleagues still found typos from my writing samples.
Because there was a lack of budget for a German-speaking Content Designer or UX Writer, the replacement was this tool and I wondered, what does ChatGPT have to say about it being a replacement for human resources:
The Age of AI tools
So what benefits can we expect from the AI revolution that's infiltrating product opportunities today? Even before the release of these AI tools, companies were leveraging natural language processing to automate customer support through chatbot integrations.
Another thing we're seeing is an obsession with automating the creation of design assets through AI. I'm sure we've all noticed the "sparkle icon" on the products we use, as it tries to draw attention to the cool, new AI feature. I tested an AI image generator when I was looking for a visual for my strategy slide and here's what it gave me...
If you're wondering whether I used that graphic from generative AI in my slide deck, the answer is a hard NO.
Cheatsheets for Designers
So maybe we can all worry a little less about being replaced by AI considering the fact that it needs humans to train it in order to render accuracy. One thing that is true though, is that you don't want to fall behind on the latest tech because humans replacing other humans is still very much a trend.
AI won’t replace designers, but designers who use AI will replace those who don’t.
A good way to stay relevant is to check out this cheat sheet from a human named Shai who asked ChatGPT for answers to things most senior-level product designers already know.
If you're a designer and you're wondering why should I use these tools if they're results are so imperfect? The three major benefits I've seen is that they:
Automate my workflow – I can generate a well-informed Design System checklist and get solid design token naming conventions from it.
Interview preparation – I always struggle to identify questions that I want to ask a potential employer but with the right prompt, I'm able to get some good examples.
Discover meaningful KPIs – It demystifies product and UX metrics for stakeholders by providing commonly used KPIs for certain projects.
Stakeholder trust – As the saying goes, "If you can't beat them, join them." For whatever reason, product managers and engineers trust AI more than they're design counterparts so just type a prompt and resist the urge to say I told you so when the response is exactly what you advised earlier.
Or if you ask ChatGPT:
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