While my boomer parents were visiting for Mother’s Day, I wanted to show them just how powerful the current generation of AI had become. To do this, I opened up the ChatGPT website on my computer and gave it three instructions. The result was a hilarious, and eye opening, demonstration of AI’s current capabilities. Here’s the demo:

Me: Pretend you are Donald Trump, and tell me how your day was.

The Donald: Absolutely fantastic, let me tell you, truly tremendous. I woke up bright and early, probably before anyone else, and I’ve been winning ever since. I don’t know how to do anything else, folks, believe me.

I had a meeting with some of the biggest and best minds in business. They’re all coming to me for advice because they know I’ve done it before, and I can do it again. I’ve built empires, folks, and they want a piece of the action.

Then, I had a light lunch. You know, they say you are what you eat. I had a salad – very healthy, probably the healthiest. Some people don’t like salads, but I make salads great again, believe me.

In the afternoon, I was on the golf course, my golf course. I shot under par, as usual. The weather was beautiful, probably the best weather anyone’s ever seen.

I ended the day with a call from some very important people. They’re always calling. They say, “Donald, we need your help.” And I tell them, “I’m here for you.” Because that’s who I am, folks, a helper.

I’ll tell you this – it’s been a very productive day, a winning day. But then again, every day is a winning day when you’re Donald Trump.

Me: Ok Donald, give me a recipe for a vegan pie.

The Donald: Well, of course, as Donald Trump, I might not be known for vegan cooking, but I can certainly whip up a recipe that’s going to be fantastic, just the best. Let’s do a vegan apple pie. Simple, classic, but always a winner, like me. Here we go:

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1. 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

2. 1 tablespoon of sugar

3. 1 teaspoon of salt

4. 1 cup of vegan butter, cold and cut into small pieces

5. 1/2 cup of ice-cold water

For the filling:

1. 6 to 7 cups of thinly sliced, peeled apples (about 5-6 medium apples)

2. 2/3 cup of sugar

3. 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

4. 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

5. 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

6. 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Start with the crust. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold, cubed vegan butter and use your fingers or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

2. Gradually add the ice water, stirring until the dough comes together. Be careful not to overwork it. Divide the dough in half, shape into discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.

3. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

4. Roll out one of the dough discs to fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim and crimp the edges.

5. For the filling, in a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Toss until the apples are well coated.

6. Pour the apple mixture into the crust-lined pie plate.

7. Roll out the second disc of dough. You can either cover the pie with the full disc (don’t forget to cut slits for steam to escape) or cut the dough into strips and arrange in a lattice pattern.

8. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. If necessary, cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.

9. Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack before serving.

And there you have it, a vegan apple pie. The best you’ve ever tasted, believe me. Enjoy!

Me: Ok Donald, I want to put this recipe on a website. Code a webpage for me that displays the recipe you just gave me.

The Donald: Absolutely, I can help with that. Here’s a basic HTML webpage for your recipe. This doesn’t include any styling; for a professional website, you’d want to include CSS and possibly JavaScript for interactivity. But for a simple webpage that displays the recipe, this should work:

Donald Trump's Vegan Apple Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

For the crust:

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of vegan butter, cold and cut into small pieces

1/2 cup of ice-cold water

For the filling:

6 to 7 cups of thinly sliced, peeled apples (about 5-6 medium apples)

2/3 cup of sugar

3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Instructions:

Start with the crust. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt...

Gradually add the ice water...

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C)...

Roll out one of the dough discs...

For the filling, in a large bowl, combine...

Pour the apple mixture into the crust-lined pie plate.

Roll out the second disc of dough...

Bake for 40-45 minutes...

Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack before serving.

This code will create a basic webpage with the recipe. The


tag creates a main heading, the


tags create subheadings, and the


tags create further subheadings. The

tag creates an unordered (bulleted) list for the ingredients, and the

tag creates an ordered (numbered) list for the steps in the recipe.

Remember to replace the ellipses (…) with the full instructions. You can view this webpage by saving it as an HTML file and opening it in a web browser.

I think this little demo really does a good job highlighting what the current generation of AI is capable of. My parents were absolutely floored.

Following the demo, we had a discussion about what this could portend for the future. Not only is AI capable of imitating the language of a notable figure, but it can generate complex instructions and code in a conversational manner. I equated it to a weak person carrying a gun. It’s an intellectual equalizer in much the same way a gun equalizes physical strength.

I utilize AI constantly to solve coding problems. I figure it doubled my coding efficiency, saving me from spending a huge portion of project time doing research. It’s a game changer in terms of software development.

The latest version of ChatGTP is capable of passing the Bar exam with a better score than 90% of law school graduates. It’s revolutionary in its abilities to perform research and distill complex subject matter.

While a lot of people are scared of what AI brings to the table, I think it will ultimately operate just like any other tool within the economy. People can wield it for good or evil purposes, but like gun ownership, the equalizing power it provides is going to far outweigh the negatives.

posted from Michael’s Substack