Five reasons ChatGPT can’t always do the job
This was originally going to be a FAQ but it deserved an article.
If you haven’t yet partaken of the Eden-esque resources of ChatGPT and experienced the limitless and instantaneous knowledge it can provide, then I guarantee you soon will.
So what can CAYA Nutrition provide that you can’t get more quickly and cheaply online? That’s a good one.
If you hear someone dismiss ChatGPT (or, indeed, Google) as a source of information on matters of health and nutrition, there’ll be an incentive in there somewhere. No question, you can find out a lot online (and maybe enough to go on with) provided you approach it with your critical appraisal skills at the ready.
I’m not interested in wasting your time and money doing something you can do for yourself, so here are five instances where CAYA’s better than ChatGPT - and I’ve saved the best till last.
1. The unknown unknowns
Borrowing from Donald Rumsfeld, unknown unknowns are those things we don’t know we don’t know. He was talking about Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction, but we’ll use a different example, in this case, from the medical word, as it illustrates the point.
A known known might be that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increases the risk of breast cancer – most women could tell you that straight out of the gate. The Australian Menopause Society concurred in its 2020 position statement on the subject. (Ref)
A known unknown might be that, while women mainly know that the HRT risk is greater if they have a genetic predisposition or history of breast cancer, most couldn’t quantify the risk or explain it further. (Ref) Moreover, they may have heard that there are other possible risks beyond breast cancer but aren’t sure exactly what they are. (Ref, Ref)
Here, before you go to your GP, ChatGPT or other online sources, could be very useful to fill you in and allow you time weigh up the issues - a luxury that might not be afforded to you in a 15-minute consultation.
Now, an unknown unknown might be that HRT can reduce risk from heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis. (Ref, Ref, Ref) These are all serious conditions. In fact, heart disease kills twice as many women as breast cancer. But, if you don’t know these potential benefits are there to be investigated, then ChatGPT probably won’t help you. However, a good GP should furnish you with all the pros and cons in the context of your situation, and this is the advantage of discussing the issues with an expert.
2. ChatGPT’s answers are not always complete
Without the context, ChatGPT guesses what it thinks you want to know.
If you feel like sleep has ghosted you, obviously you’ll consult the interweb to find out how to get back the love. And you’ll get the usual about dark rooms and no screens and mindfulness (and perhaps something about sleep apnea - which actually may be relevant)…blah,blah,blah. But, you knew all that already, right?
If you include the context, say, you’re menopausal and the problem is early waking, then Chat GPT can be extremely specific, but it’s up to you to provide the relevant background factors, since GPT doesn’t store your personal data (unless you’re logged-in). But you might not even know what’s relevant.
Conversely, a professional in the field, who knows your situation can pinpoint the issues most applicable to you and direct your efforts accordingly.
THREE: ChatGPT’s data may be old
Chat GPT is after all only scraping the internet and some of the most trusted (and oft scraped) sites have become so as the data has been up there for some time. GPT itself suggests that recency is not so important unless it changes consensus medical or nutrition guidelines (and these tend to be laggards, as consensus, you’ll have learnt, is hard to get). Back to HRT and breast cancer: Two trusted institutions, Cancer Australia and The Menopause Society both have position papers on the subject, but where the former was last updated in 2010, the latter was published in 2020 and this is reflected in its more up to date and granular content. But is one prioritised over the other? Chat GPT itself would not suggest so.
In fact, there’s a few excellent very up-to-date studies which provide more insight but, having not yet garnered many views, may fly below the GPT radar. To know about these you’d need to speak to an expert in the field, who is abreast of the latest research. (Ref, Ref, Ref)
FOUR: Chat GPT can be biased
It’s extremely common in the nutrition world, to read a somewhat balanced, yet ultimately favourable, paper on a particular food, or ingredient therein, only to scroll to the end and find it was funded by an industry body for that food. Here’s one for eggs: Eggs: Healthy or Risky? A Review of Evidence from High Quality Studies on Hen’s Eggs. And, as they’re a marketing exercise, these papers aren’t the ones locked-up behind a paywall so are freely accessible to GPT. It does have some filters to weed these out, but they’re imperfect and vested interests can be quite hard to spot. This is where background knowledge can give this research its proper weight and assess it in the context of the broader knowledge base.
FIVE: ChatGPT’s not a person
It’s endlessly tolerant when you ask it stupid questions; it can be a pretty good sounding board; and when Chat GPT says “no judgement here” you know it really means it. But we can’t change our hardwiring so easily and we humans yearn to be seen and heard.
This is where a qualified expert can really improve the quality of, not just your health, but your life. As an adult, how often to you get sustained, focussed attention from anyone? Unless you are newly in love, how often does anyone listen to you properly and try to understand your point of view?
How often do you even get to finish a sentence?
Sometimes an examination of your motives and thinking in a relaxed and neutral environment is, not only very cathartic, but invaluable in moving you forward.
But beyond this, engaging a qualified professional means your best interests are to the fore. Both parties are invested in your outcomes and biases and interpersonal histories are minimised. At the same time, that professional has access to tools and knowledge that, it would appear, are not always readily uncovered online. Your success is CAYA’s success and CAYA can bring its resources to bear to enhance your move you towards your goals.
