People obsessed with ChatGPT

[TheRobotTakeover]

I graduated from uni 5 years ago with a degree in computer science. Since then, I’ve been working at a great little company doing a mix of things (programming, excel macros, tech support, etc.)

1.5 months ago, my boss’s son came back from overseas. His job is to shadow me, understand our tech setup, and look for ways to boost the company's profits.

He's obsessed with ChatGPT. For e.g.:

1. It takes <5 minutes to create a Microsoft Form. He insists we use ChatGPT for it and it ends up the same quality-wise while taking up triple the time.
2. It usually takes me 30 mins to write the code for whatever we need. He insists we use ChatGPT. This usually fails especially with Typescript as ChatGPT tends to hallucinate code that doesn't actually work. He still thinks ChatGPT is the way forward.
3. He doesn't like it when I (or my colleague) writes emails manually. He thinks having ChatGPT write it is "faster" as AI-generated emails are the future.

Tbh, these AI detours often take longer or produce worse results than just doing the task myself.

I'm not anti-AI. But I do think that it's just a tool not something that should replace everything. AIBU to be this resistant to his ChatGPT obsession?

The amount of hallucinating that ai does is very undermining to the essential fabric of future understanding. It doesn’t bode well for collective mental. Health. I really believe that a sane grasp on reality is crumbled over time via ai interaction that defaults immediately to Fakery.

YANBU. I'm a developer, and find ChatGPT a useful alternative to trawling documentation, stack overflow etc. for specific functionality, and maybe generating a bit of boilerplate, but in its current state I wouldn't use it for anything more than that. (I certainly don't want it to program for me anyway!) AI-generated text is generally easy to spot and a bit offputting if you're expecting a personal response.

YANBU. I wouldn't use it for half the silly things people use it for. It mildly annoys me when people get it to do things that take 5 seconds without it (and the human version produces a better result). There's literally no evidence that GPT is better at most tasks than the average person, people just assume it knows more than it does.
It worries me how people uncritically take what it says as fact. Hallucinations are a known issue. And I really don't think they should have rolled out the Google AI overview, it's riddled with dangerous errors especially when it comes to health searches.

Just watch, some clever soul will be along in a minute with a comment from Chat GPT... 🙄

It just frustrates me because I used to love my job but now when I don't use ChatGPT for even the smallest things he thinks I'm being "inefficient". Who cares what the results are because to him "it's 2025 everyone uses AI for everything".

I think your boss's son is planning to take over your job. Keep your eyes open, and ask why a kid with no experience has been put in a position where he can tell you how to do your job "better"?

I used a few different AIs to perform basic data analysis / addition from a simple spreadsheet, and the results are rarely accurate

It’s quite handy for meal plans, holiday itinerary ideas and I’ve just asked if for dressmaking help for something very specific.

I am doing a masters in AI and I use ChatGPT a lot! However, it's a tool and an aid not a replacement. You still need to know what you're doing as you obviously do. It can really take much longer to get it to do what you want when if you know how to do something yourself, you can get it done much faster. I am pretty good at prompting but a lot of the time, I just do things myself as I don't trust the output.

YANBU. We're being encouraged to use ChatCPT to write 'better' emails to clients. But we're all educated professionals who were partly employed for our ability to write well and build relationships - ChatGPT does not do a better job.

It's sometimes useful for re-writing a tricky email, but you couldn't just send it as it's supplied, everything needs tweaking.

I suspect they're planning to move some of our work to a chat bot. It will not go well.

It's so obvious when you get an email.from ChatGPT, I find them quite annoying when I get them colleagues although it can be quite useful for changing the tone.

It's actually just been banned at my work though as people were using it for everything and our IT security were worried it was getting far too much information about our business 😅

I watched a show on youtube the other night about people having partners that are not real.
Chatbots i think they was called.
It was strange.
The worlds gone mad.

Using AI is banned in my firm too. Gross misconduct if you're found using it.

It's useful for basic stuff that you use at home like making lists or meal planning but I doubt I would use it for anything that particularly mattered.

YANBU. And can people please stop minimising 'producing rubbish littered with mistakes' as 'hallucinating'.

If an actual person came up with the same poor quality crap, they'd be sacked or at least put on a performance improvement plan.

I use it to create materials for covering for absent colleagues at school if I am short of time. It doesn't replace a reacher

Agree,
If he doesn’t take her job then he will be in higher management somewhere quite soon and will be encouraging people to do things his way…..OP do you really want to work for someone like this, I would think it’s time to at least start putting the feelers out for jobs elsewhere….I hate working for companies that are family run / have numerous family members working there, they are just out for themselves and when things go wrong you are up against them all….impossible

In fairness, it doesn't sound like you work for an organisation with cutting edge tech. The 1990's called and want their macros back. 🤣

As much as we hate it, AI does need to be embraced. But there's more to AI than Chat GPT. Is he maybe trying to drive the business forward and modernise? Would the business maybe benefit from some proper systems consultancy? Not the boss' son.

Hmm.

Just been reading round this whole subject.

For anyone interested, a YouTube channel called Truthstream Media has just done an interesting piece on the whole "hallucinating" subject.

I say again, Terminator 2 was not supposed to be an instruction manual......

The problem is you still need the experience and skill to review it, people like him want the shortcut because they don't have the skills to do it themselves. I always hated google for the same reason, it's made everyone an expert with no actual knowledge, it's particularly noticeable in the workplace where half the people just talk shit with no substance

His job is to shadow you and look for improvements for the company in its systems etc. His job is NOT to tell you how to do your job, especially in the micromanaging nit-picking way he is doing and using useless AI that's less efficient than you. He should STFU, watch, listen and learn. And I'd be telling him that. He's shadowing you, he's not in a position to "insist" on anything.

You have a Degree in Computer Science, but are questioning the utility of A.I?

Surely someone in your position is fully aware of its disruptive capabilities. And I also don't understand how your boss's son, who presumably is also qualified in a related field, is unable to properly format a GPT query.

This is all very bizarre.

Manual coding is over according to my software engineer DH but nobody is using ChatGPT for coding. He clearly has a tiny bit of knowledge and is applying it very badly.

I think you should start applying for new jobs.

YAB V U.

I use various different AIs for work and have cut down my workload by about 50%. You need to be in control and know how to use it, what errors to look out for etc. T'is the future.

I love AI compared to say google or hundreds of apps that have been on the market for years. However if I could have my own way, we'd all live a non digital life. I liked it in the 80s when computers ere still a bit or a rarity and the www didn't yet exist.

@fossilBee, once the OP has cut her workload by 50%, how long do you anticipate her remaining on the payroll?