As a writer and mental health professional, I have been incorporating large language model AI programs into my daily routine, and I am amazed at how these tools are changing the way I work and think. In this blog post, I want to share with you the ways that AI is transforming my life, and how it can potentially transform yours too.
One of the most useful ways that I have been using AI is for research assistance. As I work on my next book and podcast outlines, I always make sure to integrate actual clinical research. To ensure that I’m not just talking out of my ass, I often use AI to generate information and ask specific questions. For example, I might ask it to generate a table of the most common postpartum mental health difficulties with symptoms and prevalence rates or ask if there is any research that suggests people with PTSD have physiological changes in the brain. The best part is that you don’t just have to take AI’s word. You can ask it to provide citations for its claims, though it’s always a good idea to verify the primary literature.
I have also found AI to be an incredibly useful tool for report writing. For instance, when working on a neuropsychological assessment report, I often copy and paste a patient’s medication list into AI and ask it to tell me the generic name, brand name, mechanism of action, any cognitive side effects, and any interactions with other meds on the list. It can also summarize or restate medical information or help me phrase things in a sensitive manner. When it comes to conclusions and determining possible conditions, AI can also help to make sure that I’m not missing anything. I am ultimately responsible for driving the clinical interpretation and conclusions, but AI can suggest other possible contributing factors and provide the research sources that support its hypotheses.
AI has also been a great help in my personal life. I have used it to generate work for my children, such as math problems and stories that integrate any elements that we choose. It has a good understanding of grade levels and can help to create fun activities and lesson plans. It’s also an excellent tool for cooking and meal planning. For instance, I can ask AI to convert measurements to grams and halve a recipe. It can also advise me on what to eat for the remainder of the day based on my goals, as well as help me when I mess up a recipe. It even helped me to turn a failed bread dough into ciabatta.
In addition to its practical uses, AI has also been a valuable tool for brainstorming and exploration. For example, I asked it if there is any connection between the use of psychedelics to open up critical periods of development and deprivation-based critical period opening, and it came up with some ideas that led me to research mouse studies. AI has also been great for transforming information, such as summarizing web pages or generating blog posts, social media captions, and strategies.
When it comes to fun and games, the possibilities with AI are almost limitless. Since it’s an AI, the options are almost limitless. You can have it run you through text-based games or ask it to give you trivia questions. I’ve even had it make a more standardized rule set similar to Dungeons and Dragons where it rolls dice to determine combat, you have statistics, and there are items that you can put in your inventory.
Another way I’ve found ChatGPT to be helpful is in cooking. Sometimes I find myself with a bunch of ingredients but no inspiration, or I want to try a new recipe but I’m not sure how to tweak it to fit my dietary preferences. In these situations, I turn to ChatGPT for help. I can give it a list of ingredients and ask it to suggest recipes, or I can give it a recipe and ask it to suggest modifications to make it vegan or low-carb. It’s also great at converting measurements – I can ask it to convert a recipe from metric to imperial or from cups to grams, and it always gives me an accurate answer.
ChatGPT is also a great tool for prioritizing and planning. When I have a long to-do list and I’m not sure where to start, I can ask ChatGPT to help me prioritize my tasks based on importance, effort required, and time needed. This saves me a lot of time and energy that I would otherwise spend trying to figure out what to do first.
Brainstorming and exploration is another area where ChatGPT excels. I can give it a prompt or question and it will generate a list of ideas or potential solutions. This is especially helpful when I’m stuck on a problem or need some creative inspiration. I can also use it to summarize information – I can give it a long article or report and ask it to provide a summary, which saves me time and allows me to quickly get the gist of the content.
For content creators like myself, ChatGPT is a valuable tool for generating ideas and creating content. I can ask it to help me come up with topics for blog posts or social media posts, or I can ask it to write captions or headlines for me. It’s also great at finding influencers or suggesting a social media strategy.
Lastly, ChatGPT is just a fun tool to play around with. I’ve had it run me through text-based adventure games or give me trivia questions to answer. It’s a great way to pass the time and exercise my brain in a different way.
With time and effort, you can find amazing ways to optimize your life and workflow using tools like ChatGPT. It has already completely changed the way I do things.
