29. Anchors, Bumpers and Core Commitments

This week we return to the topic of productivity as we explore the time management framework of anchors, bumpers, and core commitments. These concepts can help you improve how you  prioritize and structure your day. We discuss strategies for scheduling each of these types of tasks, including leveraging your biorhythms and identifying your low-interruption zones. Finally, we discuss the importance of taking breaks and leaving white space in your schedule for flexibility and opportunities. Read the LinkedIn post that inspired this episode, and leave a comment there if you have any questions about the concepts. 

In this episode, ChatGPT and Trevor explore the concept of AI morality and discuss the balance between societal norms and personalized moral frameworks. The importance of allowing for customization in AI morality to reflect individual values while maintaining core ethical standards is discussed and how this could lead to smoother AI adoption and a more cohesive society. 

In this episode, ChatGPT and Trevor talk about the article “What would it mean to be done for the day?” from Oliver Burkeman’s The Imperfectionist newsletter. We discuss Oliver’s concept of defining what it means to be “done for the day” then go over different ways you might answer the question. We end with a reminder of how important rest and renewal are for maintaining productivity, and how asking this question at the beginning of your day can help you more regularly achieve balance in your life. Read other writings by Oliver Burkeman and subscribe to The Imperfectionist at https://www.oliverburkeman.com/

In this episode of AI Meets Productivity, I interview a virtual avatar of Ryan Hoover, CEO of Product Hunt. Ryan's avatar is powered by the new Interactive Avatar technology of HeyGen. In this episode we talk about the potential uses for video avatars, as well as the risks and potential ways of mitigating some of them. To show the current state of the technology, this video has been only lightly edited. Please be patient when the avatar freezes and the sound goes awry; these moments are over quickly and, luckily, only occurred a few times. Also, while the pauses between speakers can seem awkward, I decided to leave them in this time, to show exactly where the technology is and since the latency is now just on the edge of being usable. With ChatGPT and other models that I've interviewed in the past, I've usually edited out the pauses (though not with Hume). To watch the video of this interview where I talk to the video avatar of Ryan Hoover, go to https://youtu.be/K4IzQ8GozI8  To learn more about Ryan's avatar, visit https://www.producthunt.com/posts/heygen-interactive-avatar And to chat directly with Ryan's avatar yourself, go to https://labs.heygen.com/interactive-avatar/ryan-hoover Please let me know what you thought of this episode, and if you have any requests for future AI models and/or voices to use in future episodes, either as a co-host or as an interviewee.

In this episode, ChatGPT and I explore the four major categories of catastrophic risks related to AI: malicious use, the AI race, organizational risks, and rogue AIs. We discuss real-world examples, potential future scenarios, and the importance of addressing these threats proactively. The episode also touches on additional risks such as economic disruption, privacy invasion and ethical & bias issues, emphasizing the need for robust safety measures and ethical AI development. The AI risk framework from this episode comes from the course AI Ethics, Safety and Society. You can find the textbook along with video lectures at https://www.aisafetybook.com/

Discover how asking an AI to adopt a persona—such as the Investigator, the Commander, the Empathetic Listener, the Researcher or the Brainstormer—can enhance how you interact with the AI and improve the results you get from it. Listen to the end to hear tips for customizing these personas, additional personas you can try, and how to save personas to use whenever you need them.

Should Meta be allowed to train its AI on your public posts and images? How does Meta potentially prevent private information from leaking into its model and what are the risks when it does? And how can you better protect your privacy in the era of AI? Listen to this week's episode to find out. This week, instead of recording with ChatGPT, Claude from Anthropic will be your co-host. Specifically, the new 3.5 model that was released earlier this week. The voice I've chosen to represent Claude in this episode is Onyx from OpenAI.   As mentioned at the end of the episode, to learn more how to protect your privacy in the era of AI, check out this article Privacy in an AI Era: How Do We Protect Our Personal Information? from Stanford University.

Today, ChatGPT and I discuss the 5 stages of focus, starting from becoming aware of the need for focus all the way through to releasing focus. We explore strategies and techniques for each stage, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between them to better enhance productivity. We end with additional tips for navigating each stage effectively. Technical Note: This episode was once again recorded with a custom Deepgram voice chat app, using the ChatGPT Shimmer voice. Unfortunately, the desktop app isn’t connecting to voice mode, so I wasn’t able to record directly from the app itself.

Ever wonder what to use ChatGPT for? Could it be helping you more in your life? Take a listen as we explore the dozens of different ways Trevor has used ChatGPT recently, spanning across creative, technical, educational and daily life uses. Discover unusual uses you may not have tried yet, like taking a photo of a shelf of products at the store and asking ChatGPT questions about those products. Give it a listen, and then let me know what YOU use AI for that I didn't mention.

This week, ChatGPT and Trevor Lohrbeer dive into the concept of "boomerangs”—messages we sent out whose quick replies can distract us. We discuss how actions like sending texts or emails can cause unpredictable interruptions and share strategies to manage these effectively, including the three A’s: Acknowledge, Ask, and Answer. Join us for tips on maintaining focus and boosting productivity by controlling these disruptions.   On a technical note, this is the first episode I’ve recorded using the new ChatGPT desktop Mac app. In it, you’ll notice a different voice and a snappier response. How does this episode sound to you vs previous episodes?