The Next Big Thing: ChatGPT

By Jeff Pearson

If you’re wondering what will be the next big thing, then guess what? It’s already here. Hello, ChatGPT. I’ve never said this before, but I’ll say it now. ChatGPT is as transformational as the iPhone. It’s up there with personal computers and the internet.

So what is this thing called ChatGPT and what does it do? ChatGPT is a revolutionary way to get information by having an online “chat” with an artificial intelligence (AI) robot. Forget searching pages of Google results and countless websites for an answer. This chatbot will give you one impressive answer in seconds. It’s like a calculator for writing almost anything.

Tell ChatGPT to write a song, and it does. Tell it to write a five-page, college-level paper on world history. No problem. Now, write at an eighth-grade level. Done. Tell it to write a will in Georgia. Easy. Here’s the thing: ChatGPT doesn’t always get it right. And ChatGPT doesn’t tell you where it got the information from.

Investors think this could replace Google as the entry point to the internet. Teachers are wrestling with how to prevent students from using the chatbot to cheat. It has reportedly passed the bar exam, the CPA exam, the U.S. Medical Exam, and aced the SAT.

That’s just the beginning. It writes code too. Some computer programmers are angry because they think ChatGPT is using their code. In so many ways, ChatGPT is immediately and permanently turning the usual way of doing things upside down. Microsoft is reportedly investing $10B in ChatGPT.

Are you curious yet? ChatGPT will shock you, that is, if you can get an account. I have an account and in the second week of January, there were days I couldn’t access it because the servers were at capacity. The next big thing is here and I’ll be writing about AI for the foreseeable future as part of my series What’s the Big Idea. AI will revolutionize work, school, medicine, law, and so many other parts of our daily lives. As an intellectual property attorney, I find ChatGPT both exciting and frightening at the same time. AI is now a key part of my work.

Our firm has launched an Artificial Intelligence practice area - www.meimark.com/ai - focused on ChatGPT and AI so we can provide training and advice to clients as they navigate this frontier. And we’ll do so as long as we can, that is, until ChatGPT takes all of our jobs. For fun, I asked ChatGPT to write a poem about what I will do when AI takes my job. I let it know that I enjoy fishing, coaching, and coming up with big ideas. Here’s what it wrote:

When ChatGPT takes my job,

I'll cast my line and catch a big one,

While pondering new ideas for fun.

I'll coach a team, and lead them to victory,

With strategies and tactics, clear and free.

I'll delve into new ventures, with passion and drive,

And make a big impact, as I strive to thrive.

Though my job may be gone, my spirit will soar,

For I'll find new ways to use my skills, and so much more.

So bring on the bots, I'll adapt and prevail,

For I am Jeff Pearson, a patent attorney, and a great tale.

A robot (ChatGPT) wrote that poem and created the image (via DALL∙ E) for this article. Get ready, folks. AI is here.

Learn more about our AI services at www.meimark.com/ai