Things have changed a lot over the last year with the release of Chat GPT-4 and the supposed end of today’s jobs as we know them! And while the rise of the “Skynet” hasn’t come yet, as some might have predicted, there are some great benefits from using AI, while working on a project.
In this post, I will give you my experience from using Chat GPT-3.5 in the development of my CS 467 project, discuss the pros, cons and highlight how it has made me a better and more efficient programmer. Before we start, if you are not familiar with Chat GPT-3.5, this is the latest free version of Chat GPT from Open AI that was released back in 2022. It is not as advanced as Chat GPT-4, but it is good enough to use when writing code.
A little bit about my CS 467 project. My team is working on a crowed sourced shopping app. Basically, a Waze type of app but for shoppers, where users can create shopping lists on their phones, get feedback from other users about the stores, post updates about their experience and update prices. With all that in mind, what has been my experience with using Chat GPT in my project?
Lets start with the positives:
- Makes you faster! Way faster! Have you ever spent hours googling possible solutions to a bug? You are not alone! This was my experience before I started using Chat GPT. Now, the time I spent looking for an answer is much shorter. Chat GPT gives me targeted answers that are closer to what I am looking for.
- Helps you understand new concepts! Along with more targeted answers comes good explanations. Many times people online post solutions without getting in more detail, but with Chat GPT you can drill really deep into the factors behind an answer.
- New ways of doing things! When I write code, I tend to follow the same pattern, which is not always the most clear to everyone else. Chat GPT can help you better structure your code by posting what I wrote and asking it to structure it clearer.
The dark side:
- Not always right. Chat GPT is great on helping you find solutions and improve your code, but it is not always right. In my experience, our project includes several components and states, and Chat GPT doesn’t always guides you to the right direction for a complicated problem.
- If you are not 100% clear what you ask, it can take you down a rabbit whole. In other words, pay attention the way you frame your questions and make sure to make no assumptions. Chat GPT doesn’t know if you use Redux or relying a simple Context structure for your project, so omitting to mention that and you can waste a lot of time looking for the wrong answer.
In conclusion, while AI through Chat GPT-3.5 might not be perfect, it has certainly helped me become a better programmer. It has made me more efficient and helped me better understand concepts that were still vague in my mind. Instead of spending hours googling for an answer, Chat GPT gives me a well concise summary that helps me drill deeper in search of my solution. Additionally, it has given me a new perspective in structuring my code, which has helped me improve my collaboration with my teammates.
I am sure in the future there will be an even better version of an AI tool, perhaps designed specifically for programmers, but at this point, I am pretty happy with Chat GPT the way it is.
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