As a co-founder of a small start up team, you are always looking at ways you can do more with the limited resources at your disposal.  In a world where every hour, every dollar is precious, language models like ChatGPT and Bard have emerged as powerful tools. They are akin to adding an intern to the team. Over the past months, I have learned that these AI-powered assistants bring a unique set of skills, augmenting your workforce and enhancing productivity.

There is a lot of hype out there regarding ChatGPT and other language models.  Some of it real, some of it not.  There is no doubt in some cases the model will grow into the hype that precedes it, however for me, right now, the analogy that best resonates with me is that of "The Intern".  

Below I share, from my experience, some of the benefits, contributions, and the potential they hold for small teams.

• A Helping Hand with Tasks: Just as an intern provides valuable support to a startup, language models offer assistance with various tasks. They can help with creative writing prowess, can assist with content generation, marketing materials, and even ideation for certain strategies. By leveraging the capabilities of language models, startups can delegate mundane or time-consuming tasks, freeing up our small team for more critical responsibilities.  Most recently I leveraged these models to help me draft some of our internal, standard technology policy documents.  In this case it took something that was at least a couple of weeks effort down to a few days.‍
• Fast Learning: One of the most significant advantages of having an intern is their ability to quickly research a topic or summarise a research paper.  Just like an intern, I have asked these models to summarise documents for me including industry articles, regulations and even chapters of books.  I have then been able to interact with the model like a human and ask for the summary in key points or to elaborate more on a particular comment or point they have raised.  I wouldn't recommend them for a source of reliable facts but as a starting point for research, or to go to school on a topic, or give me some insight as to whether something (a book, chapter, article) is worth a more detailed read.
• ‍Cost-Effective Solution: Startups often operate with limited budgets, making cost-effectiveness a crucial consideration. Hiring interns is a cost-efficient strategy, and language models offer a similar advantage. While human interns require training, supervision, and compensation, language models require only initial setup and ongoing maintenance. By utilizing language models, startups can save on costs associated with onboarding, salaries, and employee benefits when requiring for simple tasks to be done.

These AI-powered assistants bring an array of benefits, from task automation and scalability to cost-effectiveness and adaptability. Just as interns contribute fresh perspectives and valuable support, language models enhance productivity and augment the capabilities of startups. But they should come with a warning on the box.  Stay away from using them as a source of facts (just ask a NY lawyer who discovered this recently) and do some experiments.  I've used GPT and Bard in side-by-side comparisons summarising the same document and seen very different results to the same question on the same document.

I'm no expert yet and even if I could claim to be, the technology is moving at such a pace that I soon wouldn't be.  I recommend setting aside some time to explore and experiment with these tools.  A lot of people are talking about how they can assist “IN” your business (chatbots, recommendation engines etc.) but right now I think there is just as much value helping small teams “ON” their business.

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