ChatGPT, the mother of all evils or a useful tool?

In the week school restarted after the Weihnachstferien (Christmas break), temperatures plummeted to -11°C, the Deutsche Bahn – and consequently, the S-Bahn – was on strike and Berlin’s streets were invaded by tractors driven by angry farmers, I have plenty of material to write about but I’ve decided to focus on a totally unrelated topic: ChatGPT.

Since its release at the end of 2022, the chatbot developed by OpenAI has been in the news constantly. We’ve seen headlines about generating fake articles, spreading disinformation, causing security threats and privacy concerns, as well as providing incorrect answers. Moreover, AI poses serious risks, such as job losses, social manipulation, the potential for bias, extinction and "loss of control". I recently read that it also has an extremely negative impact on the climate.

One particularly intriguing story involves an influencer on Instagram, Emily Pellegrini, who, in a few months, has acquired thousands of followers, including famous football players, billionaires and tennis players. The twist? Emily doesn’t actually exist; she has been generated by AI. Apparently, she’s supposed to be realistic, but I’ve never seen a woman with a body shaped like hers.

Wary of the controversy and negativity surrounding AI and ChatGPT, I hadn’t used the tool until recently. However, my curiosity led me to enroll in a course on ChatGPT for writing in November, and the experience turned out to be eye-opening.

For all its faults, I have found ChatGPT to be a valuable tool for generating and correcting text. As a non-native speaker living in Germany, grappling with the intricacies of the language is a challenge. The problem with German grammar is that it’s quite complex. There are three genders, “only” four cases, adjective endings that change based on definite and indefinite article, gender and case… just to name a few difficulties. So, writing in German is especially tricky.

If, like me, you hate making mistakes and feel embarrassed about sending work or official emails, including to your child’s schoolteachers, that have not been proofread, here is where ChatGPT can help.

For years, I’ve been relying on my husband to correct emails and text messages, something he dislikes because of my perfectionism (what’s wrong with that?), a concept he struggles to understand. For him, it’s all about sending out emails and text messages in the shortest time possible, even if they are incomprehensible to the recipient. Mostly I end up replying to him: “Huh?!? What’s that supposed to mean?”

But now, I no longer need to ask my husband, I ask ChatGPT to correct what I’ve written in German and it does a pretty good job, probably as good as a human being. Unfortunately, it’s made me realise that I still make loads of mistakes – which is rather depressing after all these years – but now I have a proofreader and teacher all in one. After all, learning from one’s mistakes is a valuable lesson.

ChatGPT is also useful for brainstorming, analysing complex text, translating and writing Instagram posts (it also suggests emojis). In conclusion, ChatGPT can be helpful for language learners and writers, but remember that you first need to use your own brain before you use artificial intelligence. So don’t send anything out unless you have fact-checked and proofed it yourself.

As I write this on a Friday evening, the temperature is hovering around zero, the Deutsche Bahn strike is coming to end, but the farmers have not yet returned to the countryside and are threatening more strikes. Life is never boring in Berlin, with or without ChatGPT. 

*Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Life coming out of lockdown: week 12

It turns out that I was wrong. Although the lockdown restrictions are being relaxed, it’s not over yet and it won’t be over – not for me and not for other parents in a similar situation – until school and/or nursery is back to normal, or at least five mornings a week.

Conversations with mothers

«I’m fed up... I’ve had enough... It’s too much... I can’t bear it anymore... I feel as if I’m going mad... I’m depressed... I hate home schooling... I can’t wait for the summer holidays to begin... I feel for parents like you: I’m so glad my son is 18!».

These are fragments of conversations I’ve had with other mothers this week. This is not a contest for who has had the worst time in lockdown, as I am aware that a lot of people have suffered for a number of different reasons, including loneliness. From the conversations I’ve had this week, it's clear though that the mental health of parents, and especially mothers, has been badly impacted by the lockdown. I know that this is true in my case.

Surviving lockdown without grandparents 

Initially it wasn’t all bad. Many of us even enjoyed having more time to spend with our children without facing the pressures and time constraints of everyday life. I certainly did. But after weeks of isolation, home schooling, tantrums and bad nights, the lockdown started to take its toll. Talking to other parents, it seems that the ones who have managed to cope relatively well through these difficult times are couples that have been able to share home schooling and childcare responsibilities, or those with nearby grandparents or other relatives. I was surprised ( and envious) to find out that several children in my son’s class have been studying with their grandparents during lockdown.

 

Enjoying a visit to the dentist

This week my son went to school on Thursday and Friday for a grand total of seven hours. In that time, I managed to squeeze in a pilates class (my pilates/yoga studio actually reopened on Tuesday, but I joined in via Zoom to save time), a visit to the dentist, which involved travelling by public transport for the first time since face masks became compulsory and an express visit to the beautician. I had two dental appointments this week, as I wasn’t able to go during lockdown. Usually having my teeth cleaned twice a year is an ordeal, but this time I almost enjoyed it. It was the first time in months that I had a whole hour to myself, without feeling any pressure to be productive, while my son and husband were at home together. The hygienist is a very nice lady and any form of live social interaction with a friendly human being is most welcome these days, even when their face is covered by a mask and shield and they are dressed like surgeons.       

 

Travelling by public transport

Surprisingly travelling by public transport was more relaxing than usual. The trams and S-Bahn trains were fairly empty, and it was easy to get a seat and keep a distance of 1.5 m from the other passengers. The announcement in English «Together against Corona» made me chuckle. Most people wore face masks or some sort of face cover, but there was one lady coughing without a mask, so everyone tried to keep a distance from her. It seems that Berliners would still rather avoid travelling by public transport, if possible. There certainly are a lot of bikes on the streets, but I’ve noticed that there are a lot of cars driving around as well. The air quality has definitely deteriorated.

 

Wearing a face mask and sunglasses indoors

I still haven’t got used to wearing a mask and on two occasions I have walked into a bakery wearing my face mask, while forgetting to take my sunglasses off. It happened in two different bakeries by the way. It took me a while to realise that it was darker than usual, as I was too focused on the sensations triggered by the mask, like warmth, difficulty breathing and hearing the muffled sound of my voice. It’s actually more challenging speaking a foreign language when you’re wearing a mask.

 

To close or not to close? The Tegel airport saga continues

 

In times of uncertainty like these, it’s reassuring to know that some things never change. A few weeks ago, it was announced that Tegel airport would be closing on 15 June, for two months, if not permanently. The closure of Tegel was supposed to happen eight years ago but was postponed due to significant problems with the new airport, called Berlin Brandenburg airport or BER, currently scheduled to open on Halloween this year. This week it turned out that Tegel won’t be closing in June after all. Now that air travel is picking up again, it seems that Tegel will be needed for a while longer. Despite the non-closure of Tegel, airlines have been cancelling flights out of the airport, including the one that we had booked less than two weeks ago. So now we have to find an alternative way to get to Sicily and visit the grandparents. Danke Lufthansa. 

Life in lockdown: week six

Another exhausting week of lockdown and homeschooling is over. The biggest challenge, in addition to trying to master German grammar (is it really necessary to use the word Selbslaut when the self-evident term Vokal is also in the dictionary? Somebody really ought to have a word with German schoolbook writers!) has been getting our energetic seven-year-old to fall asleep at night. 

Sleep, or rather lack therof, has always been a sore point in our family; the last time I had a decent night’s sleep was eight years ago. With playgrounds and sports facilities still closed, I resorted to YouTube fitness videos for kids, hours of bouncing on a trampoline, running, sprinting and cycling. Unfortunately, long walks no longer do the trick and my yoga classes are unappealing. We’ve also been putting an alarm every morning and waking up earlier and earlier. At least the weather has been consistently good, with five more days of uninterrupted sunshine. The weekend was a different story. We couldn’t believe it when we woke up to a grey sky on Saturday.

Spring is the season of awakening, as Berliners know all too well. The combination of endless sunshine and lockdown has meant that this year the feeling of renewed life and energy is stronger than ever. On Wednesday we cycled through Prenzlauer Berg to the central district of Mitte. There were people everywhere: taking pictures of the cherry blossoms close to Bornholmer Strasse, admiring the “Lord of the Rings/Ice Age”-inspired street art in Mauerpark (Gollum’s precious toilet paper stolen by Scrat the squirrel), queueing up  –  at a distance – for ice cream, sitting on the steps of the Bode Museum –  currently closed –  or soaking up the sunshine on the banks of the Spree river.

The Spree river seen from Museum Island.

The high number of Berliners out and about can be explained by an easing of the lockdown restrictions this week. The biggest change in Berlin is that we no longer need a good reason to leave the house so we are allowed to move freely within the city, as long as we keep a 1.5 m distance from others. As before, we are only allowed to be with members of our own household or with another person from a different household (so that means two people 1.5 m apart). Gatherings of up to 20 people are permitted, but only for funerals and baptisms. Masks are now compulsory on public transport, though even a scarf will do, as long as you keep your mouth and nose covered. Still no parties or barbecues in the park, but quite a few shops have reopened. Once again, I have to acknowledge that it’s difficult to keep up with all the changes, especially as they are not always reported correctly in the media.

Unfortunately, this newfound freedom has meant that thieves also don’t need a good reason to leave their houses, as I discovered one morning when my bike saddle was stolen. So, no more bike rides for me until my new saddle arrives. On a positive side, bike shops have remained open throughout the lockdown to enable Berliners to keep on cycling.

Last week I was feeling rather stressed and under pressure to be more productive, when most of the time all I wanted was to read a book in the sunshine, while sipping a cup of tea. And I really couldn’t be bothered with cleaning or baking. This week, however, I have felt more energetic and I have tried to involve my son in some house chores. We were very proud of our first ever homemade bread. (We actually found a bag of flour in the supermarket! Still no toilet paper though.) We cleaned the floor together and tried to turn it into a fun activity. Being in lockdown is a challenge, but it also has some good sides. Perhaps one day I might even find the time to work on my second novel.