What does it all mean? AI writing tools like Evernote can make sense of your messy notes. In ChatGPT, for instance, you can paste in what you have and ask, “Help me organize these notes into categories.” Be sure to check the output to verify your original meaning wasn’t changed. Pro tip: Ask your bot of choice, “Is there anything that needs more details?” to fill in any missing info.
Use AI to plan your next vacation
I’m going to Europe soon, and planning my trip was a breeze. Yes, really! AI did a big chunk of the work for me — and it can help you plan your next getaway, too. Here are a few ways to turn AI into your travel agent. For this, let’s stick with using the big bots:
- ChatGPT: My preferred AI chatbot; gives the best results.
- Gemini: Google’s chatbot is integrated into Google Flights and Google Hotels. I don’t think it’s as thorough as ChatGPT, and it often throws in its weird opinions.
1. Start with your likes and wants
Your AI travel buddy can do so much more than suggest tourist traps — it can help you create a truly tailored adventure.
🎨 By interests
AI can curate a list of spots that match your hobbies:
- “Find me the best food tours in Paris that include wine tastings.”
- “What are some scenic hiking trails within 30 miles of Denver?”
- “Suggest must-see art galleries in NYC for modern art lovers.”
☀️ By weather
AI can suggest destinations based on your preferred climate:
- “Find me a warm destination in the U.S. for January with average temps above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.”
- “What are the best ski resorts in Wyoming for late December?”
- “Where can I play golf in May with mild, spring-like weather?”
🎭 By occasion or vibe
Not sure where you want to go? Let AI find the perfect match for your mood:
ChatGPT’s new search engine is here
When ChatGPT launched on Nov. 30, 2022, I knew the web — and the world — would change forever. A week later, I predicted on national radio Google’s days would be numbered. People laughed at me, and I got notes from listeners telling me I was nuts.
🚢 Google = The Titanic: That’s how The Wall Street Journal now describes the search engine, which is on the verge of sinking. Here’s why: AI tools like ChatGPT, Gen Z searches on TikTok and, of course, Google’s increasingly worse search results. I called this two years ago. It’s nice to see the WSJ catching up.
50 doctors and ChatGPT
Were tasked with diagnosing illnesses from medical case histories. When graded on their diagnoses and reasoning, ChatGPT scored 90%, and the doctors alone scored 74%. Docs using ChatGPT? 76%. If something’s medically wrong with you, redact your personal info and ask “Dr. AI” what it thinks. Remember, though — it can make crap up.
Best AI tools for search, productivity, fun and work
In the past week, I’ve used AI to analyze a loved one’s health care records, create replies for a bunch of emails and map out two weeks in Europe. I used it to make a pic of me look better, too.
I know the wide world of AI tools is overwhelming, so I’m breaking it down today. Consider what’s below your primer on where to start if you’re brand new to the AI game or want to try out some new tools.
🤖 Thought leader or bot leader? You know all those LinkedIn posts sharing tips to maximize your #grindset? Yep, most of them — 54%, to be exact — are AI-generated. A study found these posts are getting longer, too, with their word counts jumping an average of 107% since ChatGPT arrived. No wonder our eyes glaze over while reading them.
ChatGPT Search: The (maybe? probably?) Google Search-killer is finally popping up on free ChatGPT accounts. Check yours: Log into ChatGPT and look for the world icon at the bottom. Here’s what it’s best for.
🩻 It’s not all black and white: You’re putting your private medical data at risk by asking AI bots to analyze X-rays and medical info. It’s tempting, I get it. But ChatGPT and the others don’t have to comply with HIPAA. If you want “Dr. AI” to help, be sure to redact personal info like your name, address and birthday. You never know where this info might end up.
ChatGPT, find me customers: Use AI to find out what people are saying online so you can better target your company’s ads. Take a lesson from Shake Shack: They used a bot to scan 80,000 Reddit threads about chicken sandwiches, narrowed it down to the 30 most active and ran ads for their new sandwich. It worked — sales were 31% higher.
😮 “ChatGPT saved my life”: That’s what a Redditor says after he asked the bot about chest tightness, dizziness and nausea. ChatGPT confirmed his shortness of breath and sweating, too, and suggested he might be having a cardiac event. The bot was spot on: He was in the early stages of a heart attack. Pro tip: Call 911 instead of using a chatbot.
💸 Apple Intelligence isn’t free after all: Case in point, ChatGPT is being integrated into iOS and macOS to boost features like Siri. You’ll either deal with usage limits or have to shell out $19.99 a month for a ChatGPT Plus subscription. Bummer, especially when Google and Samsung’s AI tools are free … well, for now.
💀 Google Search is dead: OpenAI added a search function to ChatGPT for up-to-the-minute news, weather, sports scores — you name it — without ads or scrolling. It’s live now for ChatGPT Plus and Team subscribers; free access will come within the next few months. I predicted Google’s demise two years ago, and people laughed at me.
Burned by the bot: Redditors are fuming at loved ones turning to ChatGPT mid-argument. One 25-year-old says his girlfriend consults the bot and returns with a perfectly structured argument, dissecting his every word. When he opens up about his feelings, ChatGPT calls him “insecure” and says he lacks the “emotional bandwidth” for the conversation.
🏰 Vacation tip: A guy traveling in Italy used ChatGPT as his tour guide, but he got creative and prompted the bot to play a more engaging role. Instead of outputting boring, dry facts, at the Pantheon, ChatGPT told him, “When you enter, look up,” then added a little history. I had ChatGPT do a travel itinerary for me for when I visited Berlin, Vienna and Paris, and it was great. You might want to try that, too!
You know AI is self-aware when it thinks its bot is too big: OpenAI plans to roll out its next big AI model, Orion, by December of this year. It’s 100 times more powerful than GPT-4 and could bring us closer to AGI — you know, where AI can perform any intellectual task a human can. Yikes.
🛌 Taller people sleep longer in bed: Women are turning to ChatGPT to catch guys lying about their height on dating apps. Upload four pics, and a bot can size someone up based on their surroundings and proportions. In a test of 10 people, ChatGPT came within an inch of assessing their real measurements. Short kings, I’ve got you: Height-increasing insoles to the rescue.
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ChatGPT started with one option: Now there are a bunch of models of the OpenAI chatbot to choose from. GPT-4o is my default, and it works for most tasks. GPT-4o is specialized for writing and coding. o1-preview and o1-mini “think” in a more advanced way. GPT-4 is still available but outdated, so skip that one.
💣 You da bomb: AI models like ChatGPT aren’t supposed to give answers for things that are illegal or illicit, but there are workarounds. Researchers found by writing their requests backward, they could trick AI into giving instructions to prompts like “how to make a bomb.” The success rate? A scary 98.85% for GPT-4 Turbo and 89.42% for GPT-4 (paywall link).
You don’t know me: If you use ChatGPT on the web, you might notice it starting to “remember” things about you, like your movie tastes or knowledge about specific topics. This can mean more tailored answers for you, but if you’d rather the AI forget who you are, click your profile picture (top right) then Settings > Personalization > Clear ChatGPT’s memory.