Ways to safely use ChatGPT
The title of this blog was chosen intentionally. With any new technology, we must proceed mindfully and avoid dangerous situations. In the case of using ChatGPT, my feeling is that companies dealing with sensitive client information must be highly cautious and treat it like any other third-party application: do not copy and paste large swaths of information, always remove identifying information (organizations, names, contact info) first, and follow the rule of email communication – never write anything you wouldn’t want to be read out loud in public.
ChatGPT is excellent at making things up! I have learned the art of asking it to create fictitious company names, invent research insights, and generate data out of thin air to use in sales discussions and publicly showcase our research technologies. Ask it to make a list of 25 made-up software companies with 3-4 sentences against each one to mimic what we might hear in a Voice of the Customer research study. It’s way faster than doing it by hand and looks far more professional than Lorem Ipsum placeholder text.
ChatGPT knows Excel formulas and Power BI DAX! I’m not a computer engineer, but know the program has impressed them with its ability to generate programming code. I can attest to its ability to create functions for advanced data manipulation in Excel and Power BI. If I need assistance thinking through the best way to combine datasets or generate an outcome, it’s the first place I go for help.
ChatGPT can be your virtual editor! Consider prompting ChatGPT to review your writing and make small tweaks to improve readability, cut word count, and suggest other ideas to refine or build your message. I’ve had nearly zero luck giving ChatGPT data and asking it to write my analysis, but I’ve had great success in letting it improve my work.
When ChatGPT was introduced, I knew straight away it was something special. The only other time technology has “wowed” me in a similar way was using Google Earth for the first time in the early 2000s. This is the beginning of an exciting journey. Please take a moment to let us know your successes and challenges with ChatGPT by leaving a comment on LinkedIn and tagging @Ideba.
Lee Sumner – Research Director
