Discussion Thread

  • 1.  ChatGPT - its value and concerns within the industry

    Posted 01-18-2023 08:33 PM
    I am curious as to who has used or interacted with Chat GPT.

    If you have no idea what this is, check out this article by business insider:
    If you still aren't sure what ChatGPT is, this is your guide to the viral chatbot that everyone is talking about
    or better yet, try it yourself at OpenAI

    I myself have seen that it could have some value to the industry. For example, the bot can be helpful in aggregating information in a way that you can query for using a conversational dialogue. A friend of mine has used it to help him develop some python code. However, I have also seen it produce a number of incorrect answers to questions (to which it will readily acknowledge when challenged). 

    Does Chat GPT seem like it could add some value to your industry? Are there any obvious concerns or drawbacks you can envision about it?

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    Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
    Civil Engineer
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  • 2.  RE: ChatGPT - its value and concerns within the industry

    Posted 01-23-2023 08:03 PM
    I learned about this from some friends back in December and have gotten on the https://chat.openai.com/chat platform a couple of times out of curiosity. Prompted by your post I entered the following query "how do you find and retain change makers in an organization" that some might recognize as a question recently posted in Collaborate. The platform https://chat.openai.com/chat provided what I thought was a credible response. It would be interesting to hear from educators on how they plan to incorporate the technology or adjust their classes to accommodate this type of capability. I do not think banning is practical. Good or bad, this type of technology can reduce the gap between mediocre and star performers.

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    Mitch Winkler P.E., M.ASCE
    Houston, TX
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  • 3.  RE: ChatGPT - its value and concerns within the industry

    Posted 02-05-2023 01:32 PM
    It might be a boon for civil engineering, also in the same way it can also be a bane as the emerging tech might focus on the AutoCAD drawing / planning a site.

        If this is taken as a problem statement then obviously a part of civil engineers are in the replaceable position, as their work planning will be done by a bot in a more precise and accurate way.

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    Rumaan Sharief N S.M.ASCE
    STUDENT
    Guddenahalli
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  • 4.  RE: ChatGPT - its value and concerns within the industry

    Posted 04-06-2023 03:42 PM

    I've actually been hearing more and more buzz about this topic, so I want to revisit this thread.  Lately, I find ChatGPT to be a powerful motivator for me to be worthy of my own neurons.  There was an entertaining and informative episode on the podcast "Cautionary Tales" about chatbots that got me thinking about the role of AI in our industry (link below).  The takeaway is that it's much easier to pretend to be human than to actually do the things that we value in humans.  And a bot that fakes it well probably isn't representing the best traits of humans in the first place.  Remember Tay?

    You can ask ChatGPT any simple question with a technical dimension and it will give an answer that probably sounds convincing to a client and will produce totally ineffective results if implemented.  OpenAI recognizes this in the "Limitations" section of their "Introducing ChatGPT" post (link below).  I've had a lot of conversations lately where I've pointed out that ChatGPT and other text-generating bots aren't intended to be correct or honest about anything, and heard in response some version of, "well it's just not quite there yet."  As if this is even a step towards that.  In fact, ChatGPT has not even started becoming accurate.  That's not what it's for.

    Do engineers-and people in general-talk a lot without saying anything?  Rely on careful wording to hide our lack of expertise on a subject?  Parrot information without review or synthesis?  Certainly, and engineered systems have failed as a result.  If we're excited that ChatGPT sounds convincingly human, maybe we should also be a little disappointed that humans have so much in common with a piece of software that is not programmed to tell the truth, provide any needed service, or generate original informed opinions.  Maybe the question isn't, "can AI do my job?", it's, "what should I be doing that makes me better than AI?"

    Links:
    Tim Harford, Cautionary Tales: "The Online Date That's Too Good to Be True"
    https://timharford.com/2022/10/cautionary-tales-the-online-date-thats-too-good-to-be-true/

    OpenAI: "Introducing ChatGPT"
    https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt



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    Christian Parker P.E., M.ASCE
    Structural Project Engineer
    Washington DC
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  • 5.  RE: ChatGPT - its value and concerns within the industry

    Posted 04-07-2023 09:45 PM

    Thanks Christian! I had not thought about it this way before. I definitely believe that your questions deserve some reflection.



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    Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
    Civil Engineer
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  • 6.  RE: ChatGPT - its value and concerns within the industry

    Posted 05-28-2023 10:54 AM

    "ChatGPT and other text-generating bots aren't intended to be correct or honest about anything"?? That reminds me of how a version of ChatGPT designed for Snapchat is turning out: 
    https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tWDAmElb22Q

    I also think the squandering potential of this AI is a two-sided coin. Already, these forms of AI seem reliable and trustworthy with tasks like gathering and protecting information, but doors are open regarding privacy and security risks. And yet, it's because of how humans trust each other with approaching these tasks that the doors are open in the first place.



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    Alexander Granato
    Transportation Planning Engineer
    Indianapolis IN
    granato.3@...
    A.M.ASCE
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  • 7.  RE: ChatGPT - its value and concerns within the industry

    Posted 06-26-2023 10:59 AM

    I've used Chat GPT for a variety of applications. The best use case I've found is for generating social media captions. I know most larger firms can afford a marketing team, but if you're a smaller consulting firm, you may do your own social media in-house. I know I've always had trouble writing interesting captions or explaining things in a way that the average person can understand. Fortunately, ChatGPT and other AI chat programs can provide succinct descriptions and narratives using proper grammar. 

    I've also used Chat GPT to help plan presentations. By asking Chat GPT to give you a "mind map" on a particular topic, it can help you organize your thoughts for your presentation in a way that people will understand. It can even be asked to provide some questions relating to your presentation topic to help you plan ahead for what an audience might ask. 

    I've also heard of people using Chat GPT to role-play a job interview in order to give them practice answering questions. 

    Chat GPT has a lot of use cases, but it's always important to read the response thoroughly and provide edits where needed. The tool isn't perfect, but with a little review and editing, you can end up with a really great product. 



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    Cody Obropta P.E., M.ASCE
    Environmental Engineer
    Bangor ME
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  • 8.  RE: ChatGPT - its value and concerns within the industry

    Posted 06-28-2023 11:00 AM

    Thanks for the insightful post. In my view, individuals/companies will find themselves obsolete if they are not using ChatGPT, or thinking about how it can replace their role or specific tasks. The more I hear about what ChatGPT can do, the more I see its transformative and disruptive possibilities. As a side note, there is no excuse for bad or incorrect grammar today. I strongly recommend Grammarly or similar product, if this is an issue with one's writing. 



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    Mitch Winkler P.E., M.ASCE
    Houston, TX
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