039 | Micro-legal & AI Legal Help

Brainyacts #39

Saturday vibes!

🚀 Buckle up, Brainiacs! Reading this newsletter is like flipping your pillow over to the cool side in the middle of the night. That always feels sooo good.

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Ok, today we will:

  1. explore what micro-legal is

  2. share a video walk-thru of a new AI tool

  3. give you keywords/commands to get better ChatGPT results

  4. share news about Elon’s new AI company

  5. cover how AI is being used for scamming consumers

  6. chuckle at a meme

In Micro-legal; ChatGPT Reins

Ever hear of micro-legal? Here you go.

In the grand bazaar of legal matters, there are a few bustling marketplaces - the swanky corporate defense district, the feisty plaintiff's bar alley, and the Main Street small law strip. Hidden within the latter is a niche I dub the "micro-legal" cubbyhole. It's where folks get tangled in petty legal scrapes so minuscule that hiring a lawyer would be sheer foolishness. Picture parking tickets and a barrage of debt-collection shenanigans from shady or hopelessly unorganized utilities, landlords, or service providers.

Allow me to regale you with a tale from the land of crumpets and tea, demonstrating how ChatGPT can swoop in not as a lawyer usurper, but as a handy assistant for managing those irksome micro-legal conundrums.

Now, for serious legal predicaments, seek a trusty lawyer. But for paltry matters like a parking ticket, ChatGPT might just be your knight in digital armor. One plucky British student found this out when faced with a £60 ($74.30) penalty for parking near her rented abode. Millie Houlton, a studious attendee of York University, had been informed that her usual parking spot was off-limits due to road works. Undeterred, she opted for a spot around the back, only to be slapped with a fine.

A measly $75 isn't enough to warrant enlisting a legal crusader, so Millie turned to ChatGPT to swiftly pen an eloquent appeal. Providing the bot with the nitty-gritty of the incident, she emphasized her valid parking permit and the barely discernible road markings at the scene.

ChatGPT crafted the letter, leaving Millie to merely sprinkle in a few personal touches before sending it off. Lo and behold, the plan was a smashing success, and the fine was vanquished! Thus, for those trifling incidents requiring a touch of professional panache, ChatGPT is the go-to digital scribe.

Some of you may have heard about the startup DoNotPay which specializes in this domain. They have raised over $27 million in VC and seed funding. And, yes, of course, they are being sued for unauthorized practice of law.

🚨 POLL TIME!

Do you agree that ChatGPT should be used for Micro-legal challenges?

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New Tool

What is it: Summate.it

What it does: Quickly summarize web articles with OpenAI (experimental).

How is it: Use this for long-form web content. I used it for two different articles that would have taken over 25 minutes to read each. This allows me to get a sense of what they are. I can also export the full article to Kindle or transform it into plain text.

My take: Great for quick exploration of topics and authors as you navigate a theme. Also, great easy option to send the articles to your Kindle reader or app (this is not always easy and this site makes it easy). It is experimental so it is not perfect yet but overall a high utility service that will increase productivity.

Keywords for Better ChatGPT Responses

One of the main criticisms of ChatGPT is that the responses can be fairly generic or general. In the past I have shared some Power Prompts, such as ‘elaborate on’, and ‘be unconventional and contrarian.’

Today I am sharing a list of commands you can use in your prompts to get ChatGPT to provide more suitable responses for what you want it to do.

We all tend to get into habits and use the same language over again. Reviewing this might help you unlock new words and ideas on how to generate your prompts.

News you can Use: 

🥷 X.AI Elons AI Newco

Elon Musk ventures into AI battleground with new company X.AI, preparing to face off against giants like Microsoft-backed OpenAI, while critics question his recent call for a pause on "giant AI experiments."

  • X.AI founded in Nevada, with Musk as director and Jared Birchall as secretary

  • Rumors circulated after Musk purchased thousands of GPUs for generative AI product

  • X.AI might rival ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, which Musk co-founded and later left

  • Musk and other luminaries signed an open letter urging a six-month pause in AI development

  • AI race heats up with tech giants like Google, Meta, and Microsoft investing heavily in the field

AI Online Scams Are On the ⬆︎

AI is making it easier for scammers to trick people by convincingly recreating voices, crafting personalized phishing messages, and generating fake product reviews. Here's what you need to know:

  • AI can now replicate a person's voice after just three seconds of listening, raising concerns about voiceprint security systems

  • Fake family emergency calls and virtual kidnappings are emerging threats

  • To protect yourself, verify the identity of callers, be wary of unexpected calls, and avoid sharing personal information

  • AI-generated text can make phishing scams more convincing, with a 135% increase in novel attacks since ChatGPT's adoption

  • AI is also being used to create malicious code and crack passwords, lowering the barrier to entry for would-be hackers

  • Despite its potential dangers, AI has many positive applications; staying informed and critical is key to navigating the risks

Saturday Meme

That's a wrap for today. Stay thirsty & see ya next time! If you want more, be sure to follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

DISCLAIMER: None of this is legal advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not legal advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any legal decisions. Please /be careful and do your own research.