The hottest reservation in America is not the 2023 Superbowl. Rather it is getting time on ChatGPT to experiment with artificial intelligence. I tried and tried and even put my name on a “contact me list” but I could not get a time to experiment. Luckily, I was able to talk to Jessica Berg who is co-Dean of CWRU Law School and she has access. I asked her to submit a query on my behalf.
Here was my query: “When is the best time for eligible persons to elect to take Social Security payments? Should they start as early as possible, or should they wait and receive a higher distribution amount for the deferral?” Because this query has an “it depends” answer I was testing to see whether ChatGPT could think it through.
Here was the answer I got. I was amazed by the quality and clarity of the writing as well as the exploration of alternatives based on a retirees’ circumstances:
“The best time to take Social Security benefits depends on individual circumstances such as life expectancy, financial situation, and other sources of retirement income. In general, there is a trade-off between receiving smaller benefits for a longer period of time or larger benefits for a shorter period of time.
If you start taking benefits at age 62, the earliest age of eligibility, you’ll receive a lower monthly benefit amount compared to waiting until full retirement age or even later. If you can afford to wait, you may receive a higher monthly benefit amount and delay depleting your retirement savings.
It’s important to consider your personal financial situation and life expectancy when deciding when to start taking Social Security benefits. It’s also a good idea to consult a financial advisor or Social Security specialist to help you make an informed decision.”
This was not the hardest question, but very few people I know could have answered it correctly in less than 150 words.
I also understand why Microsoft is making a multibillion dollar investment in Open AI, the company behind the chatbot. Microsoft’s new editor features in its Word software are annoying and clunky and its “auto correct” is a proofreading nightmare..
ChatGPT melds the Google search engine with the Microsoft suite of production tools, but in a way that makes products from each of these dominant companies largely irrelevant. To get my answer, I did not have to search on Google and then synthesize the information. I also did not have to write an answer using Word by Microsoft. I got a fully researched and written analysis and just copied it into this blog. There was no fight about whose cloud to use for storing the answer and no recurring charges for enterprise usage.
I really want to experiment with whether ChatGPT can perform investment research and make an investment recommendation? All I know is this step in the evolution of artificial intelligence may be a highly disruptive technology.
One of the complaints against ChatGPT is that it doesn’t always “tell the truth”. This isn’t really remarkable because so much information we get today from trusted sources is not truthful. However, if ChatGPT becomes truthful— which, in my opinion, is likely with time and attention— every major news organization could be disrupted. Right now that industry survives from subscription and ad revenues so they print and report what readers want.
For now, I would love to hear from our readers whether they are able to subscribe to this disruptive technology? What about AI truth putting journalists out of business?
The above commentary is for informational purposes only. Not intended as legal or investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security or strategy. Information prepared from third-party sources is believed to be reliable though its accuracy is not guaranteed. Opinions expressed in this commentary reflect subjective judgments based on conditions at the time of writing and are subject to change without notice.
