ChatGPT Basics for Wordsmiths - 1-hour Video Recording

This session is foundational, and is aimed at wordsmiths - writers, editors, managers, office workers, etc. - who spend some or all of their working time creating or modifying the written word. Dr. Robinson is a best-selling author, freelance writer and academic who first learned about the ins and outs of generative artificial intelligence form her university students last fall. George Butters is the President of the CFG and determined shortly after the release of ChatGTP 3.5 in late 2022 that freelancers needed to know how to use tools like this safely and effectively. This session was purposely designed for the novice, and is part of a series intended to allay the fears of many CFG members that Artificial Intelligence was coming for their clients, or for their jobs. You'll learn that artificial intelligence is already pervasive for anyone who uses a computer or mobile phone to do just about anything from online banking to fingerprint scans for access. We'll focus on ChatGPT, a foundational tool, and learn the basic of how it works, what it does well, what it does poorly, and how to navigate the risks inherent in using a somewhat reliable assistant that sometimes behaves as though it's on drugs. Our ultimate goal is to help you avoid the typical user pathway that goes from elation to terror and slowly back to the realization that this is not a solution to all things writing and editing, but can be a useful tool in trained hands.