A Non-Techy Techie's Perspective on ChatGPT

The Techie That Wishes She Could...

If you've somehow stumbled onto this blog, one thing you should know about me is that I'm a web developer. That's right, I can write Javascript that makes your web pages sparkle (not literally — that's bad UI) and query databases using a python-based framework such as Django. 

I keep my code editor in dark mode so I can feel like a real hacker. 

But the truth is that not only am I not a hacker, I'm also not particularly tech saavy. Probably not what you expected someone that works in the tech industry to say...but it's true.

I’m a late adopter.

I’m that non-techy tech person that spends all day deep within lines of code and goes home at the end of the day shuffles downstairs into a very unautomated living space. Up until a few years ago when I accidentally threw my iPod into the washing machine, it was my preferred music device for runs (RIP little running friend). Why would I want to carry around a clunky smart phone when my music playlists could fit in a tiny little device smaller than the palm of my hand?

Alexa? Siri? Never spoken to them.

The most automated thing in my home is my Nest thermostat. And that was already installed before I moved in.

I hate to admit it, but I’m a pretty horrible representation of a person that works in the tech industry.

It’s not that I dislike the gadgets...I just don’t see a need for all of them.

But I’m the anomaly. Because if everyone thought like me, I’d certainly be out of a job! The innovation, the creativity that is derived from the tech world allows me to build some cool shit...until, perhaps, it doesn’t.

The Robots are Taking Over

Ever since ChatGPT blew up almost overnight, I've been hearing how my job may someday become obsolete. That’s right. AI is coming for us. But how soon?

Right now, ChatGPT allows you to ask a question – anything your mind can think of – and it'll return a response. 

Pretty impressive, right?!

Certainly if you're a machine learning professional, you'll thrive! If you're a writer or developer, you may not feel quite as optimistic about your job outlook in 10 years.

You may be wondering, like me, will robots eventually take over the tech world? Will they be able to write error-free code in a matter of minutes?

So many questions have been running through my head. 

Yet, unlike my typical "wait until it's proven" mindset, I've decided to step up my game and start exploring this new technology that may one day leave me jobless. And here's what I found...

Prompt #1

If there's one thing I struggle with in web development, it's Regular Expressions. I don't write them very often so every time I need to write one, I feel like I'm starting at square one. 

But what if ChatGPT could alleviate all of the testing and pain I feel when writing RegEx? 

Let's give it a go!

My prompt:

Write a Javascript Regular Expression that removes the first word followed by a colon in this sentence: Importer: Header row with column names: {'Qty', 'Symbol', 'Cost'} required. 

The result:

I have to admit. I was impressed. It returned a detailed explanation of the answer and lo and behold, it was exactly what I needed. 

A concise and accurate response.

ChatGPT: 1
Me: 0

Prompt #2

So ChatGPT seems to be able to do some fairly simple RegEx, but could it do more than that? 

As I'm starting to dive into AWS, I'm trying to integrate a variety of resources and technologies. But I'm having a difficult time finding existing resources that provide an accurate tutorial and skeleton for exactly what I need. Could ChatGPT be my hero and solve this issue for me?

Let's see...

My prompt:

Create an SSR Nuxt3 application without aws-serverless-express that runs using an AWS lambda function and that uses AWS serverless framework node-js 18 and Node ESM while running offline with Webpack and nitro.

The result:

1. Install the required dependencies:

Ok, it's repeating back to me what I've originally asked it — this seems good. It must understand what I'm asking for, right?

Wait, whaaaaaat?

The very first dependency it wants me to install is aws-serverless-express, which is the very package I specifically asked it NOT to include.

I try a few more times by trying to re-word my prompt by replacing "without" with "do not use." No luck. ChatGPT seems to really want me to include that package.

So after a few more prompt changes, I give up. It didn't seem to respond with the specifics that I was asking it for. And, I'll admit, although my prompt writing may need some fine tuning, it wasn't returning the code I was hoping for. I imagine it's a bit of an art writing these prompts so that you receive the response you request. But for this round, I'll take the win!

ChatGPT: 0
Me: 1

My Takeaways

My very short and non-scientific test came up neutral. I think ChatGPT has some great potential to be able to do some very quick coding challenges and can certainly get developers headed in the right direction.

But can it completely write an entire application the way you want it to? I'm not so sure. Can it make that application actually look aesthetically pleasing, function correctly and be accessible? I'm even less sure of that. 

One thing I do know for certain is that it has already become part of life. Despite my reluctance, I also know that this is the future in some way, shape or form. It will likely find its way into our daily professional lives — whether it’s by writing documentation for developers, creating outlines for editors or thinking up splashy headlines for marketers. It may replace a lot of the written work that we currently do — or at least speed it up.

But, it can’t replace us. Humans.

When asked if it would replace my job as a web developer anytime soon, even ChatGPT dismissed the idea by saying:

As it stands, ChatGPT can spit out very detailed, intelligent sentences, but it can’t teach us how to collaborate with others in person. It can’t be part of our free-flowing, organic face-to-face conversations. 

As we explore this technology, we need to remember that we are living, breathing, thinking, feeling human beings. AI is none of those things. Explore the possibilities of what AI offers, but be cautiously optimistic.

We still need people. We need the creatives. We need the fact checkers.

AI, such as ChatGPT, may change how we work and it will undoubtedly create new types of jobs in the future, but I don't believe it will ever replace humans. Even if it could, who would really want to live in such an automated, artificial world?