programming
Collection

Programming AI to Your Advantage

This collection offers advice to deepen your understanding of AI and program it to your advantage. It features a variety of resources to help you develop and apply more advanced AI skills, from ChatGPT Plus, Medium, and DeepLearning.AI to OpenAI Playground, OpenAI API Reference, and Hugging Face.

Updated December 2024
MS
Associate Professor, General Faculty
Economics
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01

ChatGPT Plus: Guide and Collaborator

OpenAI

ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is a powerful AI language model that produces human-like text responses, facilitating deep and insightful conversations.

MS
Marc Santugini
ChatGPT has been a cornerstone of my exploration in AI, acting as both a guide and collaborator. Whether I'm delving into intricate AI concepts, trying to decipher an article from Medium.com, coding an AI application, or even deploying a chatbot on Heroku, ChatGPT offers invaluable insights and assistance. I particularly recommend the ChatGPT Plus subscription because it unlocks the prowess of GPT-4 and introduces invaluable beta features like Plugins and Code Interpreter. I find that these features have been instrumental in enhancing my AI journey, saving precious time and offering clarity. More so, as you navigate the resources in this collection, ChatGPT can act as a dedicated assistant, making your learning experience more seamless, integrated, and profoundly enriching. I believe it is an investment in knowledge that continually offers returns.
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Getting Started with ChatGPT Plus

  1. Enabling Beta Features:

    • After securing your subscription, navigate to the bottom left of your screen.

    • Click on "Settings & Beta" to access the menu.

    • Here, you can enable the Beta Features.

  2. Starting a New Conversation with GPT-4:

    • Initiate a new conversation.

    • Ensure you've selected GPT-4 from the model options.

    • You'll notice three primary modes to choose from: Standard, Code Interpreter, and Plugins. Select the one that best fits your current needs.

  3. Understanding the Modes:

    • Standard: This is the basic mode where you can have general discussions, ask questions, and receive answers from GPT-4.

    • Code Interpreter: This mode is perfect when you're diving into coding tasks or AI projects. It not only assists with coding queries and checks your code for errors but also offers valuable coding suggestions. Beyond just code, the interpreter has evolved into a multifaceted tool. Whether you're looking to generate various types of graphs, convert GIFs to MP4, create a PNG palette from an image's colors, or even draft a fully-functioning HTML site from a dataset, ChatGPT's Code Interpreter is equipped for the task. It simplifies complex operations like data visualization, analysis, and conversion, making it a dynamic asset for both coding novices and seasoned developers.

    • Plugins: This feature allows GPT-4 to interact with the web, fetching real-time data, referring to specific websites, or even gathering information from various online sources. It's especially useful when you need to cross-reference or gather more context on a topic. Notable plugins like Scholar AI offer streamlined access to academic knowledge, Wolfram delivers in-depth answers across subjects, and Zapier automates workflows. For a wider selection tailored to university needs, explore the plugin store.

By familiarizing yourself with these modes and features, you'll be well-equipped to make the most out of your ChatGPT Plus experience.

Custom Instructions: Tailor your ChatGPT experience by providing specific instructions about yourself and your preferences, ensuring more personalized and relevant interactions.

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02

Exploring AI Trends on Medium.com

Medium

Medium is an online publishing platform rich with articles and blog posts on the latest trends and developments in AI.

MS
Marc Santugini

I have found Medium to be an invaluable source for anyone wanting to keep abreast of the rapidly evolving AI landscape. This platform offers easy-to-digest articles, posts, and tutorials, penned by industry professionals, enthusiasts, and developers. It provides a wealth of information on the latest AI tools and technologies. Many articles even come with code snippets, allowing you to test out the concepts discussed. As an educator, Medium can provide you with insights into the current state of AI, helping you incorporate the latest trends and tools into your teaching and research.

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03

Discovering the Essence of AI with DeepLearning.AI Short Courses

DeepLearning.AI

DeepLearning.AI offers a range of courses on AI, at a variety of levels and in a variety of formats. The DeepLearning.AI Short Courses are short, self-paced courses that span a gamut of topics, from tools like LangChain to practical applications with the ChatGPT API.

MS
Marc Santugini
While DeepLearning.AI boasts a plethora of courses, I believe it's the short courses under 'learn.deeplearning.ai' that truly stand out. These courses are designed for those eager to swiftly grasp and apply AI concepts. They are uniquely hands-on, allowing learners to interactively run code directly, fostering an immersive learning experience. Despite being in "beta" and not offering traditional tracking or certification, the richness of content and practical engagement these courses provide makes them invaluable for anyone keen on a comprehensive yet concise AI learning journey.
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04

Exploring the OpenAI Playground

OpenAI

The OpenAI Playground is an interactive platform for experimenting with advanced AI models like gpt-3.5-turbo and gpt-4. It provides a dynamic, hands-on environment where you can tweak parameters and observe real-time responses. You can also download the Python code for your interactions and learn about 'System' roles—how to guide the AI's behavior.

MS
Marc Santugini
I highly recommend the OpenAI Playground for anyone looking to delve deeper into AI. In addition to allowing you to view in real-time how advanced AI models respond to different prompts, allowing deeper insights into the workings of these models, the ability to download the Python code for your interactions and learn about ‘System’ roles gives you a peek under the hood of how AI applications are built and teaches you how to guide the AI's behavior. To me, all these factors make the Playground an invaluable learning tool for those interested in AI and its real-world applications.
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05

Using the OpenAI API Reference

OpenAI

The OpenAI API Reference is a comprehensive guide that details how to integrate and interact with OpenAI's models programmatically. It thoroughly explains how to make API calls, handle responses, and troubleshoot various scenarios.

MS
Marc Santugini
If you want to integrate OpenAI's models into your own applications or workflows, this is the resource for you. As you work through the OpenAI API Reference, I trust that you will acquire a profound understanding of the underlying mechanics of AI applications and learn how to manipulate them effectively. I think that this guide is an indispensable resource for leveraging AI in a practical context.
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06

Experimenting with Hugging Face

HuggingFace

Hugging Face is a leading platform that provides a vast library of pre-trained models for natural language processing tasks.

MS
Marc Santugini
In my experience, Hugging Face Model Hub is a great place for AI enthusiasts and researchers looking to explore and experiment with free pre-trained Large Language Models. The platform hosts a multitude of models in multiple languages, offering a wide range of options to choose from based on your specific needs. It facilitates easy experimentation and application of AI, making advanced language models accessible to both researchers and developers. It's a fantastic resource for those wanting to delve into the practical aspects of AI without starting from scratch.
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