Technologies

The 5 Best Uses (So Far) for ChatGPT’s AI Chatbot

How a complex AI chatbot can make your life easier, one task at a time.

The new AI tool ChatGPT has inspired excitement and worry with its ability to instantly answer complex questions. In the days after its debut, people have discovered many ways it can make their lives easier — including five we’ve found that rise above the rest.

ChatGPT is a chat-based tool built by research lab OpenAI that answers questions with somewhat conversational dialogue. Its natural language abilities will delight anyone who’s had to rephrase questions to get answers out of Siri or Alexa. The AI, trained on the vast tracts of text available on the internet, knows about information only through 2021. But it’s got an abundance of information on nitty-gritty details and big concepts. That’s got some educators agitated, but as long as you use it carefully, it can be something of a bonus brain.

To be clear, ChatGPT isn’t a perfect substitute for doing your own research — it doesn’t separate fact from fiction, as CNET science editor Jackson Ryan noted while detailing its present weaknesses in critical thinking. ChatGPT can answer questions and explain complex concepts, but its potential for inaccuracy has led StackOverflow to temporarily ban ChatGPT generated software.

That said, there are several ways ChatGPT can make your life easier, cooked up by people looking for AI benefits. If you just want to save time on some tasks — and aren’t cheating on your English Lit paper — here are some cool ways to use ChatGPT.

Get a chatbot to save you money

In a matter of weeks, a GPT-powered bot could lower the prices of your bills. Joshua Browder, CEO of DoNotPay — the «world’s first robot lawyer» that helps people fight traffic tickets and other bills — tweeted that the company is building a Chrome extension based on ChatGPT’s tech foundation to negotiate lower bills from internet providers, hospitals and more.

The extension will enter closed beta testing in mid-December, before an open beta in the first week of January. Though DoNotPay has been lowering bills for years, its rules-based model could only pick fights wherever users could submit online complaint forms. After integrating the conversational tech behind ChatGPT, DoNotPay can negotiate back-and-forth with any service that has chat for customer service, opening up the range of bills that can be challenged to include medical bills, credit reports and landlord-tenant disputes.

«You can say to the bot, ‘Go get me a refund for poor in-flight Wi-Fi’; it’ll have your personal details saved and send [the complaint],» Browder told CNET. He believes the more natural language of the requests will be less suspicious than the rigid form letters DoNotPay had been sending before, allowing it to challenge more discerning — and expensive — institutions, like hospitals.

The GPT-powered extension will be free for part of its beta testing phase then eventually be added into DoNotPay’s current bill-challenging subscription service, which costs $36 every three months.

Like Google’s Duplex AI making voice calls for you, the future could be bots doing all the tedious legwork to get you better deals and cheaper bills.

Make a diet and workout plan

Changing your diet and planning an exercise routine takes work. To make it easier, Alex Cohen, a senior director of product at Carbon Health, used ChatGPT to make a health-improving plan with a daily calorie target, exercise suggestions, a weeklong list of meals and even a shopping list for all the necessary ingredients. He tweeted out his method in an illuminating thread:

Cohen broke down his plan in a series of steps, calculating his personal health metrics, asking for meals that would fit his daily caloric and nutritional needs, asking for a shopping list, and then an exercise plan to meet his needs.

ChatGPT is no substitute for a physician and dietitian who can cater a plan to your specific needs and physiology — a caution the tool will tell you if you repeat Cohen’s search terms. But it’s an easy way to sketch out a health plan blueprint that you can check over yourself or bring to a health care professional.

Generate the next week’s meals with a grocery list

A variation from the last point is worth spotlighting for anyone planning a week’s worth of meals for multiple people.

First, ask ChatGPT for a list of meals, explain how many people you’re cooking for and whether you’re interested in dinners, breakfasts or lunches. Include any preferences and dietary restrictions. Detail how many days you want dining ideas, and poof, you have a list of meals.

Next, ask for a shopping list for those meals. You’ll get a pretty basic list of ingredients, so if you want exact amounts, you’ll need to fine-tune your request. For example, you might want to ask for the total amount of ingredients for all the meals listed. GPT produces a shopping list with the number of cans, ounces, pounds and cups of each ingredient you’ll need for a week’s worth of meals.

Create a bedtime story for kids

ChatGPT-generated prose hasn’t topped the bestseller lists yet, especially since it hasn’t gotten the knack for creative style. But the tool can make a passable bedtime tale for children, concocting simple plots and language from basic prompts. For instance, I chose a cat who wanted to go to space, and ChatGPT gave me the tale of Max, who clawed his way past many obstacles to achieve his dreams among the stars.

Stanford grad student in machine learning Eric Zelikman tweeted the idea of using ChatGPT to generate a bedtime story and then feeding that text into OpenAI’s DALL-E image-generating tool for illustrations.

It isn’t going to replace traditionally published children’s books. But if you’re pressed for time or away from your kid’s trove of bedtime tales, generating one through OpenAI’s tools can be helpful.

Prep for an interview

If you need to prepare to interview an exciting source, you can ask ChatGPT to generate some thought-provoking questions, as entrepreneur Seth Bannon tweeted.

That could be handy if you’re a journalist, or if you’re grilling somebody on stage at an industry conference, prepping for a job interview or preparing for a dinner with someone you want to impress.

You can even use it as a chat partner to set up mock conversations to practice what you’re going to say. You can instruct it to respond in other languages or translate specific phrases, too. You could also use it to help refine your cover letters and emails for a bit of professional polish. ChatGPT isn’t perfect, but when there’s a lot of example copy on the internet it can crib from, it can be an adept communicator.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, July 19

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 19.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword is a delight. I was thrilled to spot a cute salamander with a funny name in the clue for 9-Across. Good thing I remembered how to spell it! Keep reading for help with today’s Mini Crossword. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: See-through
Answer: CLEAR

6A clue: «Anybody home?»
Answer: HELLO

7A clue: Winged horse of Greek myth
Answer: PEGASUS

9A clue: Salamander known for its regenerative abilities (and adorable appearance)
Answer: AXOLOTL

10A clue: Texting format, for short
Answer: SMS

11A clue: Birthplace of bossa nova
Answer: RIO

12A clue: Even score
Answer: TIE

13A clue: Insect seen in Dalí’s «The Persistence of Memory»
Answer: ANT

14A clue: Directory abbr.
Answer: EXT

15A clue: Metroid console, for short
Answer: NES

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Party snack made with cereal and pretzels
Answer: CHEXMIX

2D clue: Gift with many interlocking pieces
Answer: LEGOSET

3D clue: Airline whose name comes from the Book of Hosea
Answer: ELAL

4D clue: Election loser
Answer: ALSORAN

5D clue: Stand-up comic’s act
Answer: ROUTINE

7D clue: Command that uses the «V» key
Answer: PASTE

8D clue: Pulling their arms might win you money
Answer: SLOTS

Technologies

It’s the End of the Road for Microsoft Store Movies and TV Shows. What It Means for You

Microsoft has abruptly stopped offering rentals and sales of TV shows and movies on its media platforms.

Microsoft is exiting the market for selling and renting TV and movies across its platforms. There was no reason given for the abrupt change, with Microsoft simply posting the news on a support page on its Xbox website.

«Microsoft has stopped selling new movie and TV content. Existing customers can continue to access their previously purchased content on Windows and Xbox devices,» Microsoft said in the post.

The company said playback and download options will continue to be available for shows and movies people bought previously, but it’s the end of the road for new sales.

On the same page, Microsoft directed users to sign up for Movies Anywhere if they aren’t already members, which makes purchased content available across platforms, and to shop at other media stores including Amazon’s Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home.

A representative for Microsoft didn’t offer additional comment, but pointed CNET to a similar support blog post on Microsoft’s website.

Microsoft has partnered with many companies over the years to distribute video content since the early 2000s. The move comes as the company has been experiencing mass layoffs and cost cutting across many divisions, including its gaming studios, resulting in the cancellation of multiple upcoming Xbox games.

What happens to content I’ve bought from Microsoft?

Although Microsoft says previously purchased content isn’t going to be unavailable, there are some things to be aware of. According to the support page, you can’t transfer your purchases to another service (although they can be accessed on other services if Movies Anywhere makes them available, but that doesn’t apply to TV shows).

Microsoft isn’t offering refunds for any purchased content, either.

Microsoft says that downloads of movies and TV shows will still work and will be available, «on Windows and in HD max resolution.» Movies and TV shows will still be playable on the Microsoft Movies & TV app.

The company says anyone who is having trouble accessing their purchases can reach out to Microsoft Support.

Technologies

Microsoft Will Erase Your Passwords in 2 Weeks: What to Do Now

If the Authenticator app is your go-to password manager, you’ll need to pick a new one soon.

Microsoft is axing passwords starting in August — and if you use its Authenticator app, you’ll want to be prepared.

For years, Microsoft Authenticator has been a go-to for managing multifactor authentication and saved passwords. However, starting next month, it will no longer support passwords and will move to passkeys instead. That means your logins will soon rely more on things like PINs, fingerprint scans or facial recognition.

Using a passkey can make your account safer, and it’s a move I’m excited about. I recently uncovered that 49% of US adults have risky password habits that can open the door to scammers getting access to your sensitive data.

If you’re a fan of Authenticator and not sure where to start before the switch, here are other password managers CNET recommends and steps you should take before August.

When will Microsoft Authenticator stop supporting passwords?

Microsoft Authenticator houses your passwords and lets you sign into all your Microsoft accounts using a PIN, facial recognition like Windows Hello, or other biometric data like a fingerprint. Authenticator can be used in other ways, such as verifying you’re logging in if you forgot your password, or using two-factor authentication as an extra layer of security for your accounts. In June, the company stopped letting users add passwords to Authenticator.

Starting this month, you won’t be able to use the autofill password function. And next month, you’ll no longer be able to use saved passwords.

If you still want to use passwords instead of passkeys, you can store them in Microsoft Edge. However, CNET experts recommend adopting passkeys during this transition. «Passkeys use public key cryptography to authenticate users, rather than relying on users themselves creating their own (often weak or reused) passwords to access their online accounts,» Tomaschek said.

Why are passkeys a better alternative to passwords?

So what exactly is a passkey? It’s a credential created by the Fast Identity Online Alliance that uses biometric data or a PIN to verify your identity and access your account. Think about using your fingerprint or Face ID to log into your account. That’s generally safer than using a password that is easy to guess or susceptible to a phishing attack.

«Passwords can be cracked, whereas passkeys need both the public and the locally stored private key to authenticate users, which can help mitigate risks like falling victim to phishing and brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks,» said Attila Tomaschek, CNET’s software senior writer and digital security expert.

Passkeys aren’t stored on servers like passwords. Instead, they’re stored only on your personal device. More conveniently, this takes the guesswork out of remembering your passwords and the need for a password manager.

How to set up a passkey in Microsoft Authenticator

Microsoft said in a May 1 blog post that it will automatically detect the best passkey to set up and make that your default sign-in option. «If you have a password and ‘one-time code’ set up on your account, we’ll prompt you to sign in with your one-time code instead of your password. After you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to enroll a passkey. Then the next time you sign in, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your passkey,» according to the blog post.

To set up a new passkey, open your Authenticator app on your phone. Tap on your account and select «Set up a passkey.» You’ll be prompted to log in with your existing credentials. After you’re logged in, you can set up the passkey.

Other password manager alternatives

Since Microsoft will get rid of all of your passwords in two weeks, you’ll need a new place to store your passwords safely. Tomaschek has a few of the best password manager recommendations after testing and reviewing several.

The top recommendation is Bitwarden for its transparency. It’s open-source and audited annually. From a price perspective, the free plan lets you store infinite passwords across unlimited devices. The free plan also includes features most password managers would charge for, including password sharing and a username and password generator.

Bitwarden’s upgraded plans have other upgraded features that could be worth the cost, too.

Personally, Tomaschek has been using 1Password for a while, and he likes the interface and family plan. Even though it’s second on the list, Tomaschek says it’s just as good as Bitwarden.