ChatGPT has been launched for nearly half a year now, and it has had a great impact on me during this time. The anxiety mentioned here is not the kind of fearmongering about AI replacing humans, but rather the impact of AI on my personal work and learning as an ordinary software engineer and lifelong learner.
Unlocking the Brain#
Although I have been self-learning technology for over ten years and have been making a living from it, I am aware of my average aptitude and relatively poor understanding. I haven't achieved anything remarkable in these years, just getting by.
Occasionally, I have "moments of brilliance" when my mind suddenly becomes sharp, work becomes easier, and I have endless energy. These moments are rare, only happening a few times. But each time, I can clearly feel that I have become "smarter." Of course, I return to my normal state after a good night's sleep.
After using ChatGPT, these "moments of brilliance" have become the norm. Many previously challenging tasks or mentally exhausting things suddenly become almost effortless. Due to psychological inertia, I still approach them with the same caution as before.
As I use it more, I no longer fear unfamiliar or difficult knowledge. As long as I have a good idea and a clear goal, I dare to pursue it and, in the process, absorb a vast amount of new knowledge.
A flood of new knowledge enters my brain, like using an enema to clear the blockage, surging endlessly.
Heightened Excitement#
In this past half year, I have been in a state of heightened excitement. It mainly comes from the enhanced learning ability and the increased number of things I can do. I can now understand things that I couldn't grasp before.
Driven by enthusiasm, I have indeed learned a lot. In this half year, I have learned even more than in the previous year. For example, I finally started using Gentoo Linux as my daily operating system, successfully deployed the LLM model on my computer, learned several functional programming languages (Racket, ClojureScript), made contributions to open-source projects (dart_eval, flutter_eval), and read several books, among other things.
But there is a cost to these emotions. Exhaustion accumulates unnoticed, and due to staying up late frequently, my health has deteriorated. I have a fever almost every month, and the more I have a fever, the weaker my body becomes. I am starting to worry.
In addition to exhaustion, my mind has become chaotic. My mind is filled with work and learning, and there seems to be an endless list of things I want to do. This has disrupted my daily routine. For example, on weekends, when I should go out and relax, I mostly stay at home doing research. The pressure from both work and self-learning, although not causing me trouble, has made the burden on my mind and body heavier.
Lack of Motivation for Work#
When I become too immersed in my own world, life starts to feel unreal, including my attitude towards work. I have become unmotivated.
Because I feel that the content of my work is meaningless. It's not about the cliché of AI replacing my job. It's about feeling that my work is a waste of time without my own research topics.
But I have overlooked one thing, which is why I am writing this article to reflect on myself. That is, work provides me with a livelihood, which is the most significant fact and a great significance.
With work, I can pay my mortgage and afford the $20 monthly ChatGPT Plus subscription without hesitation. In the current job market in the internet industry, it is difficult to keep a job because many companies are downsizing. And I, who used to be a good student, if my job performance declines due to being replaced by AI, I might be laid off without even realizing it.
So I need to give myself a reality check and be more clear-headed. Without a job, how can I afford my high mortgage? How can I plan to have children? I need to quickly return to reality.
Learning AI Technology#
Under the charm of the magical ChatGPT, I have started learning NLP deep learning and am currently reading "The Fish Book". My motivation for learning is:
- Curiosity: ChatGPT is fascinating, what is the principle behind it?
- Seeking opportunities: See if there are better development opportunities and if I can catch the wave of benefits.
- Understanding the cutting-edge trends: I must understand what is happening in the world to avoid being left behind.
But as I learn, I realize that mastering LLM is not something that can be achieved in a day. My learning, as a popular science understanding and writing demos, is sufficient, but from a professional perspective, I am still an outsider, completely unfamiliar.
After work, I browse Twitter every day and get bombarded with new developments. I look up each new term, which makes me realize that the smartest people in academia and industry are in this field, and it's not easy to catch up.
Computational Power Barrier#
I also discovered that there is a computational power barrier for LLM. LLM consumes a lot of GPU memory, and high-memory GPUs are usually expensive and beyond personal affordability. Currently, the RTX 3090 is still within my budget, but there are also uncertainties with second-hand hardware. Even if I manage to build a machine with dual 3090s, it only has 48GB of memory, and I can only fine-tune small models.
I also wonder, even if I have the machine (with sufficient memory) and fine-tune it with my own data, will the results be good?
Unlike researchers in academia, I am just a programmer, spending most of my time at work. I can only sit in front of the computer and learn something after 11 PM every night. I simply don't have the time to research these things, and even if I hastily experiment before going to bed, what's the point?
How Ordinary People Can Make Good Use of AI#
I gradually realize that, in terms of AI, I am first and foremost an ordinary person (user). The first thing I should consider is how to make good use of existing end products. For example, the following products are ones I find useful:
- ChatGPT Plus: Efficiently acquire knowledge through GPT-4.
- Copilot: Efficiently write code.
- Cursor: Help me understand open-source code. I believe reading open-source code is a good way to improve my skills.
- Poe.com: Complementary to ChatGPT.
- Bing Chat: Has internet connectivity and can search for new knowledge.
What should I use them for? How can I make good use of them?
From my personal perspective, I am a lifelong learner, so the first priority is to use them to enhance my learning, to learn more and learn faster.
During the learning process, my understanding will continuously improve. This improved understanding will help me better comprehend the world and plan my own life, leading to a more satisfying life.
At the same time, with the support of AI tools, my work efficiency will also improve. This means that in the same amount of time, I can achieve greater output. These valuable outputs will contribute to my career development. Better career development will give me more autonomy, allowing me more time for learning and producing, forming a positive cycle.
Time Leverage + Information Leverage + Intelligence Leverage#
Accumulating wealth requires leverage. As a wage earner, the levers I can use are very limited. Currently, the levers I can use are:
- Time leverage: I am a lifelong learner, and I find joy in satisfying my curiosity. I dedicate most of my time to learning. Over time, this allows me to accumulate more knowledge, understanding, and skills, which will come in handy when needed.
- Information leverage: Faced with a vast amount of information every day, if I don't keep up, I will be left behind by the times. I subscribe to many sources of information (RSS, social networks, newsletters) to keep myself up to date.
- Intelligence leverage: These AI tools, which make up for my lack of intelligence, provide answers to more questions and help me understand complex and obscure code repositories. With the help of AI, I can understand and become smarter in an imperceptible way.
Conclusion#
It's another late night, and under the bombardment of AI, I have to pause my excitement and write down these thoughts.
In a few hours, when the sun rises and the birds sing, I hope to adjust my mindset:
- Take work seriously: Focus on work during working hours, as work is important, especially in the current environment.
- Continue using AI for learning: I believe this is the most significant help AI can provide me. Having this is enough; other priorities are not as high.
- Stay informed about AI trends: Pay attention to end products and technical developments. End products can enhance my learning and work efficiency. Technical developments help me find potential benefits.
- Pursue personal projects: I enjoy independent development and working on various side projects. I can continue with these plans as before.
- Learn AI technology: Since AI is the future trend, I should understand it. But this is not an urgent task because rushing won't catch up. So I will learn step by step, steadily and steadily.
The life of an ordinary person is ordinary, with most of the time spent working and a small part spent improving. I shouldn't rush or be anxious. Just like the self-learning I have always insisted on, accumulating bit by bit, there will be a big difference in five or ten years.