Yielding

Tuesday, February 04, 2025

Weeks ago, ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence, appeared on my iPhone. It would let me converse with AI using its male or female voice. I played with that and enjoyed the interactions. I appreciated the site’s potential but soon drifted away.

The other day, at my outside job, a young co-worker described using ChatGPT for “almost everything” and willingly paying $20/month for its stepped-up version. She described sending a photo to that AI and asking for an enhancement or a detailed explanation of what the photo suggests or represents, or sending drafted paragraphs and requesting improved rewrites, or sending complex questions and asking for detailed answers.

I know many uses of AI and have occasionally used it for writing help. AI has aided me in writing an idea or a paragraph more pointedly for improved clarity. I’ve never submitted a photo or video while asking for a description or detailed information, but my coworker does often.

She did some interesting demonstrating for me, and I decided to test the paid version with a real-time example.

I was working in the Jewelry Department. I had been showing a recent customer a set of Tahitian pearl earrings. She understood the pearl type’s beauty and value and loved how she looked wearing the earrings. She struggled over purchasing them and finally didn’t.

My coworker photographed those Tahitian earrings and sent the image to her ChatGPT version, requesting the pearls’ history and attributes. AI identified the price value of those earrings and sent paragraphs explaining the pearl type.

I recognized that by employing some of AI’s responses, I might have spoken confidentially and more thoroughly about the earrings. While my customer debated over buying, I could have encouraged the potential sale by demonstrating more knowledge about the pearl type, its history, and why its value stays high.

As my colleague and I played more with her version of ChatGPT, I saw the potential added value of using the paid version and will upgrade to it.

Dear Friends: AI is increasingly available, accessible, and impactfully useful. Diana