Although these types of articles have quickly become a cottage industry, Alexandra Samuels provides us with some useful tips for using ChatGPT.

Start with small assignments, then scale up. Use it to assist with tasks you would delegate. Provide concrete and specific instructions.

[T]reat the AI like a junior colleague, figure out where you need help, be specific with instructions, provide feedback, think of AI creatively and as a nonjudgmental colleague, be skeptical, and know when it is time to pass the task to a human colleague.

I particularly like her warning to “Be Skeptical.” After asking ChatGPT to create a financial spreadsheet, she notes that, “as I was about to hit copy-paste, though, it occurred to me to cross-check the financial figures.” Turns out ChatGPT had filled the spreadsheet with random numbers. Caveat emptor.