Yeah, I have deep reservations about the various AI companies, the environmental impacts of the industry, and many of the other issues that people are bringing up here. And, I have still found a few very practical uses.

My partner was fighting with their insurance company about getting reimbursed for several thousand dollars of medical expenses. After a couple of rounds of rejections I had them send me the paperwork, insurance information, and rejection letters and then asked ChatGPT what we should say to get them to reimburse us. It came up with a letter that had the right legal mumbo jumbo to convince the insurance company to agree and pay us. Yes, I could have hired a lawyer, but the legal fees would have eaten up most of the money. And I guess I could have gone to law school, gotten a specialization in insurance law, and figured it out myself. But that also would have cost more time and money.

I still think “AI” is overhyped and has a lot of ethical issues, but there are also some very practical uses.