Hero Stack: ChatGPT
Welcome to the AI Revolution

Overview ✈️

ChatGPT is the tool that started it all. The fastest-growing app of all time, ChatGPT reached 100 million users in just two months and is the application that catapulted LLMs into the mainstream. OpenAI provides ChatGPT via simple, easy-to-use web and mobile applications. OpenAI’s app allows you to chat with either their GPT-3.5 or GPT-4 models and utilize a plethora of plugins. They recently launched a feature called Code Interpreter that allows ChatGPT to write and execute code at a level similar to “a very eager junior programmer.” An expert generalist, ChatGPT has been trained on a massive sample of the publicly available internet via the Common Crawl dataset.

Beginner Friendliness 🐣

ChatGPT Is one of the most beginner-friendly apps in existence. The application follows all the most familiar design patterns, and the chat interface is one that anyone who has ever used a phone can understand. Users can log into OpenAI using their email address or Google, Microsoft, and Apple accounts. Once inside the app, the user sends a message (aka a prompt) to get started. ChatGPT will respond to questions the OpenAI team deems reasonable or politely refuse to answer questions it deems harmful or unsafe.

Value 💰

OpenAI offers a free version of ChatGPT that provides incredible value. A first of its kind, ChatGPT is more powerful than any chatbot that has come before it. That being said, the free model, GPT-3.5, isn’t without issues. GPT-3.5 is limited by the age and size of its dataset and shorter context window. GPT-3.5 runs into memory issues and has a tendency to hallucinate. The issues with GPT-3.5 have been improved massively by the successor and paid option GPT-4. OpenAI’s paid option starts at $20 a month and allows users access to GPT-4, plugins, and API requests for an additional fee. Plugins add a ton of value to the ChatGPT offering, and the list of available plugins continues to grow. ChatGPT is a bit expensive compared to tools such as Midjourney, but it offers massive value and is an indispensable tool for any high-output operator.

UI/UX 🎨

OpenAI’s web and mobile applications are both powerful and easy to use. The chat interface is intuitive and can be picked up by anyone who knows how to operate a cell phone or personal computer. Code Interpreter and the various Plugins do surprisingly well in translating free-form queries into specific actions that leverage the correct tool. A few quirks related to power usage prevent ChatGPT from getting a perfect score. When working with long prompts and long responses, the user needs to actually exit the chat application and move to the OpenAI sandbox. Additionally, it’s difficult to discover new plugins; the directory is only accessible inside of the application, is difficult to search, and lacks tools vital to plugin discovery.

WDH 🦸

ChatGPT is one of the top tools in Working Dev’s Hero’s stack. OpenAI has developed a top-notch personal assistant that’s always willing to help. The vast majority of ChatGPT’s responses are accurate and present information clearly. The possibilities of a tool like ChatGPT and the number of potential applications are mind-boggling. The only downside to ChatGPT is that it lives a bit outside of typical workflows. Constantly switching from tool to tool and relying on copy and paste can cause friction that reverses some of the productivity gains ChatGPT would yield otherwise. Fortunately, OpenAI offers their GPT-4 model via an API, and we are seeing more tools integrate GPT-4 directly into their products. ChatGPT is a revolutionary technology that has grown faster than any app in history up until this point because it delivers tremendous value for tech operators.