The ChatGPT Revolution, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 7On the go

My mother has always been an avid gardener. In fact, a number of years ago, she grew over 100 different varieties of roses, and her garden was featured as part of Open Gardens Australia.

Unfortunately, I have whatever the opposite of a green thumb is, and (try as she might) she has never quite been able to get me gardening.

Everywhere we go, she can point out plant names, give me descriptions of how to care for them, tell me what seasons they thrive in and why I should (or shouldn't) attempt to grow them.

Very occasionally, she gets stumped. She will look at a plant and maybe know the general classification (e.g. succulent or ground cover) but may not know the specific variety.

In the past, this meant taking a photo and going home to check her books — or trying to describe it on Google to get a name. I had told her there were apps for this type of thing, but she generally finds technology a bit overwhelming.

I recently showed her the mobile version of ChatGPT and how she could take a snap in the app and then ask ChatGPT to identify a plant. She was hooked and anteed up. What really won her over was the ability to chat further about the plant regarding best times to plant or prune, types of fertilizers and which local nurseries stocked it.

Now I need to manage the texts I'm getting with her new discoveries. I’m still not gardening. #justsayin.

We already know ChatGPT can assist you to research a topic, write an email, or play a game on your computer. But wait … we ...