Top ChatGPT Hacks You Need To Know:
Charlotte shares her thoughts on how ChatGPT can be especially helpful for VI users:
I was very sceptical about ChatGPT. I assumed it would be unreliable and clunky and full of misinformation. But I can honestly say, I was wrong. It is so clever and it has made a huge difference in not only my job, but also my daily life as a blind person.
Here, I discuss my top hacks for living a smoother, smarter and more independent life with ChatGPT.
What is it?
Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT is a conversational AI tool, which can read, explain, describe and brainstorm on demand. It’s like having a super helpful, endlessly patient assistant. And the best part is, it couldn’t be easier to use. All you need to do is create an account; type your request into the text box; click ‘send prompt’; and within a matter of seconds, your answer will appear like magic. There is a free version, which is still very smart and efficient but if you’re looking for more enhanced features and power, I would recommend upgrading to ChatGPT Plus. At £20 a month, it is quite expensive, but so worth it in my opinion.
My Top Tips
1. Turn printed text into speech
How annoying is it when you’re faced with a piece of text you can’t read? While there are fantastic apps like KNF Reader and Seeing AI that can help with this, ChatGPT is also a great option. Simply take a photo of a page, a sign or a menu; upload it to a ChatGPT conversation; and ask it to describe the text. It will then read it aloud to you. You can also do this to convert screenshots or scanned pages into audio.
2. Get descriptions of images
ChatGPT can describe images in detail. It can:
- Tell you what’s in the image (people, objects, and surroundings)
- Explain diagrams, info graphics and graphs • Identify colours and patterns e.g. of clothing (this is great for online shopping)
- Read out product labels or cooking instructions
Other brilliant apps for this include Be My Eyes, Google Lookout, Google Lens, Tap Tap See and Speakaboo.
3. Summarise long passages
I don’t know about you, but I often struggle to summarise long pieces of text. This is primarily because, as a Braille and audio user, I cannot skim and scan. Instead, I have to read everything, which can be both time consuming and also overwhelming.
To make things a little easier, you can ask ChatGPT to provide a summary of the key points in the text. Just paste the text into the box or upload a document, and it will give you an overall summary.
It can even help to simplify complex concepts. Ask it to “make this text easier to understand” and it will improve readability by shortening sentences, getting rid of jargon, and clarifying any vocabulary.
4. Make beautiful posters and presentations
When you have no useful vision, it can be difficult to create visual content. But not anymore! With ChatGPT, you can feed it your ideas and it will generate a design, based on your written brief. For example, you can ask it:
- “Design me an eye-catching and colourful poster for my cake sale in the school hall this Thursday“.
- “Design me a funny E-Card with a picture of a cartoon black cat wearing a party hat and the words ‘have a purfect Birthday'”.
You can even get it to create beautiful powerpoint slides or to format a document. Simply paste the text you would like formatted or turned into a powerpoint; tell it how you would like it to look e.g. which font and colours, or additional elements you want like tables; and with a click of a button, it will do everything for you.
5. Shop online more efficiently
With so many websites being inaccessible, online shopping can be a nightmare when you have no sight. But ChatGPT can help you find the product you’re looking for much faster and more efficiently. It’s also able to scour customer reviews, saving you time whilst filtering out those pesky adverts that make your phone freeze.
For example, you can ask:
- “According to online customer reviews, what is the top-rated VI assistance app for iPhone?”
- “On Audible, what are the top-rated authors of YA mystery books?”
- “Based on customer reviews, suggest the best, most affordable face washes for teenage skin”.
It will then search the web for you and come back with a list of recommendations, along with links that will take you directly to the product page.
6. Find recipes
Fancy doing some cooking but not sure what to make? Just ask ChatGPT and it will find tasty recipe ideas, based on your requirements. It’s also great for meal inspiration if you are running low on certain ingredients. Just take a picture of your fridge or list out its contents, and it will search for a recipe, using only those ingredients.
Note: this is, obviously, within limits. If the only ingredients you have are some Gravy granules; bananas; cereal; cheese and a tin of tuna, even ChatGPT may struggle to come up with something edible.
7. Research topics for school or college
Now, to be clear, I am absolutely not advising that you get ChatGPT to write essays for you, as just like with copy and pasting from the internet, it will get you into a lot of trouble. What is perfectly acceptable however, is using ChatGPT for research. Similar to the online shopping, you can get it to search the web for a particular topic and summarise it for you.
When you’re doing this, it is important to bear in mind that ChatGPT isn’t perfect. It can make mistakes from time to time. So, to avoid any inaccuracies, always ask it to provide links to sources.
8. Brainstorm ideas
When coming up with ideas, it can be helpful to have someone as a sounding board, and ChatGPT is great for this. Just explain your objective like:
- “Help me think of a special gift for a loved-one”.
- “Help me come up with career ideas”.
It will then ask you a series of questions and based on your answers, provide you with a list of creative ideas.
9. Help with organisation
Think of ChatGPT as a PA and study buddy in one. To help manage your time effectively, ask it to organise your calendar and create homework or study timetables.
