Chapter 2

A Primer on ChatGPT

IN THIS CHAPTER

Getting an introduction to ChatGPT

Picking apart AI prompts

Considering the disadvantages of ChatGPT

Checking out alternatives to ChatGPT

Although AI has been evident in recent years through consumer apps like those annoying voices when you call a company’s main telephone number and Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Siri (and many more applications when you think of them), the dam broke on the public’s radar screen about the power and potential of AI when ChatGPT was launched in 2022.

ChatGPT hit one million users in record time and much more quickly than any prior tech launch. Netflix, for example, didn’t hit one million users until three years after it launched. In this chapter, I introduce you to using ChatGPT and list some alternatives to consider.

Acquainting Yourself with ChatGPT

ChatGPT was created and launched by Open AI, and it can be accessed at https://chat.openai.com. There are two versions at the time of this writing: the free version (GPT version 3.5) and the premium version GPT Plus ($20 per month for version 4). The free version is fine for your AI investing pursuits now so that you can get comfortable interacting with it and exploring its power and potential.

ChatGPT offers plenty of help. Besides many forums and educational sources online (many are listed in Appendix A), ChatGPT’s creator is a great first place to start: https://help.openai.com/en/.

Asking ChatGPT to describe itself

Why not have ChatGPT introduce itself? Use the simplest prompt imaginable:

“What is ChatGPT?”

ChatGPT’s response when I asked this prompt is in Figure 2-1. This figure is of the interface itself.

As far as the name goes, “Chat” refers to your interaction with it, and the “GPT” refers to “Generative Pre-trained Transformer.” Find out more about the meaning of the term “ChatGPT” at www.coursera.org/articles/chatgpt.

Discovering what ChatGPT can help you with

I think that you could be like a kid in a candy store after you start using ChatGPT and getting creative with your prompts. Let’s get your creative juicing flowing by giving you some ideas of what you can accomplish with ChatGPT. Consider a prompt like this:

“Please provide a list of ten specific benefits and services that ChatGPT can provide to investors. Please give an explanation and an example of each item.”

The first part of ChatGPT’s response is in Figure 2-2. Note that number 4 is about portfolio diversification strategies. Right out of the starting gate, you have issues you can address or discuss with your financial advisor. Take each issue and ask AI about them in depth; it will only enhance your knowledge and performance as an investor.

Figure 2-3 provides the next batch of items for the investor’s consideration. Take item number 7 on dividend stock selection. Dividends are an important part of a long-term stock investing strategy (especially for income investors). You can use AI to locate, analyze, and choose dividend stocks.

Figure 2-4 wraps up the choices with IPOs (initial public offerings) and long-term strategies, both of which can be handled with AI. IPOs are covered in Chapter 5, but now you know that AI can help you choose in a way that was not possible before.

I don’t mean to overwhelm you, but to invite you to start getting proficient with a groundbreaking new technology that will only get better and more proficient for those willing to embrace it.

It’s All About the Prompt

Your part in using ChatGPT is to enter your question or request, and this is referred to as the “prompt,” which makes sense; you’re prompting it to generate a response you’re seeking.

Yes, you can prompt about anything, but let’s keep it in the realm of this book’s financial topics. Here’s an example in which I prompted ChatGPT about prompts:

“Please provide a list of 20 useful prompts for financial planning and investing with an explanation and an example of each.”

The first part of ChatGPT’s response is in Figure 2-5. Using AI to use AI could be the first best approach for investors. Take the item of risk tolerance assessment. Plenty of investors are not that sure about their own tolerance for risk. Using AI to go in-depth here will ultimately mean making choices that will make your path going forward less stressful.

Figure 2-6 covers additional financial planning and investing prompts from ChatGPT.

You find guidance on creating useful investing prompts throughout this book, but here is a simple two-step formula for creating a useful prompt (until you get proficient):

1. Give the AI tool (such as ChatGPT) a scenario as the first part of your prompt.

   For example: “I am a 60-year-old single woman with $X amount in my 401(k) plan …”

2. Then give a specific question as the second part of your prompt.

   For example: “I am considering a growth fund, but I want to compare the pros and cons with a growth-and-income fund.”

When you get proficient with ChatGPT, understand that you can grow with it. ChatGPT has many uses and add-ins so you can get productive. Check out the possibilities here: https://platform.openai.com/examples.

The Limits and Negatives of ChatGPT

Keep in mind that ChatGPT is far from perfect, and some of its drawbacks and glitches can be problematic. If you’re seeking answers to very important questions in your life — money, health, and so on — please consult with human experts where applicable. If you’re doing research, then consult with multiple sources.

Here are some of the disadvantages of using AI to help with your investing and other financial pursuits:

• A limit on knowledge: ChatGPT 3.5 (the free version) does have a time limitation (January 2022 at the time of writing).
• Bias: If you’re asking questions about philosophy, politics, public policy, and related areas in which human bias can be strong, then you may get skewed answers. Note that “garbage in equals garbage out” was first coined when computers became mainstream decades ago, but that saying is just as true (maybe more so) with AI since so many biased humans are involved in both the programming and the data formation.
• Incorrect answers: Until they get the bugs and glitches out, there will be the possibility of errors and poor and/or inaccurate answers and responses. Again, check multiple sources — especially if the topic is very sensitive or important to you.
• Cannot provide personal advice: Because AI tools for the most part do not (yet!) have access to your personal data, refrain from asking very personal questions. Yes, you can give it scenarios and example problems and issues, but just understand that AI is not developed yet to give you mindful, sentient guidance similar to human experts.
• Other issues with AI: I won’t seek to be comprehensive about all the failings and shortcomings of AI, but at this point why not ask ChatGPT or other AI this pointed question? Since it isn’t emotional and won’t take the question personally, it’s remarkably open about its own problems and shortcomings.

Looking at ChatGPT Alternatives

Before you think it’s ChatGPT 24/7/365 around here, keep in mind that there are alternatives for your consideration. Who knows? Maybe a week or a year from now, one of the following sites surpasses ChatGPT. In fact, some of these already have done better than ChatGPT in some tasks:

• AnonChatGPT: For those who want to use ChatGPT anonymously to preserve their privacy, this is a good consideration. For more details, go to https://anonchatgpt.com/.
• Bing Chat: Microsoft Edge’s Bing search engine coupled with the power of ChatGPT competes with Google’s Bard. Check it out at www.bing.com/chat. I have been using Bing Chat, and I like the AI enhancements. Some of its capabilities are superior to ChatGPT.
• ChatPDF: One of the drawbacks of ChatGPT (the free version 3.5 at least) is that it can’t review or summarize PDFs. With PDFs so ubiquitous both online and probably on your hard drive, ChatPDF (www.chatpdf.com/) can be very useful.
• Copy.ai: Found at...