ChatGPT Plus with Vision (GPT-4V) is going to be able to do some cool stuff.
New Use Case: Intelligent Image Analysis.
I attached an image of a headstone commemorating my maternal second great-grandparents, David S. Lawrence and Marget M. Lawrence. I thought about what I’d like to know about the image, and I wrote this prompt.
PROMPT: You are an expert genealogist, talented writer, and imaging expert. Your goal is to extract information from images. Find attached an image of headstone. Analyze the image. Transcribe any text on the headstone. Describe any notable features in on the headstone. Describe the whole image. Create a narrative report from the text on the headstone; dry recitation, no editorializing.
This was a first-attempt, so I didn’t know what to expect.
I was impressed. This is going to be useful. (Imagine writing a simple Python script to process a folder of 20 or 200 or 2000 images like this for you.)
ChatGPT responded:
Transcription of the Headstone:
LAWRENCE
DAVID S. MARGET M.
FEB. 8, 1845 FEB. 6, 1844
DEC. 26, 1916 AUG.15, 1896
Description of Notable Features:
The headstone appears to be made of a weathered gray stone, possibly granite.
The surname "LAWRENCE" is prominently inscribed at the top of the headstone.
To the left side, details of "DAVID S." are inscribed, and to the right are the details of "MARGET M."
Each individual's birth and death dates are inscribed below their names.
There are floral motifs carved on both the left and right top corners of the headstone, which appear to be blossoming flowers with leaves. These motifs are symmetrical to each other.
The headstone is set on a slightly raised rectangular stone base.
The surrounding area appears to be grassy and suggests the headstone is located in a cemetery.
Narrative Report:
David S. Lawrence was born on February 8, 1845, and passed away on December 26, 1916. Beside him, Marget M. Lawrence was born on February 6, 1844, and departed this life on August 15, 1896. Both are commemorated on a headstone bearing the surname "LAWRENCE," adorned with floral motifs, resting in a grassy location.
Earlier, I had looked at how ChatGPT with Vision handled a fan chart (imperfectly), a pedigree chart (impressively), and a death certificate (also impressively).
Beyond the genealogy community, this use will be very helpful. Having friends in the blind and low vision community, I was aware of the Be My Eyes app for years.
It was a good day at East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference 2023.
UPDATE: Second success the next day
After leaving East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference but before leaving Baltimore, my wife and I enjoyed the afternoon attending Poe Fest International, a part of which included a cool walk through cemetery where Poe is buried; I snapped a shot of Poe’s first burial location and the headstone now there, and I processed it with GPT-4V as I did with the Lawrence headstone yesterday.
Nailed it again.
Same prompt. More challenging image, with areas of dark and light, curved text, and more of it. I see no errors in the transcription. And it got the curved text correct, too, though I’m not sure the famous name and popular quotation might not have provided context that would have been useful during the image analysis.
Months of waiting came to an end on Tuesday 3 October when I finally got to test ChatGPT with Vision (GPT-4V). This version of ChatGPT can now “See, Hear, and Speak.” I spent a few hours getting acquainted with GPT-4V. This report provides a brief overview of my experience, though there’s much more to explore.
Introduction to GPT-4 with Vision and OCR
ChatGPT with Vision isn’t just your average virtual assistant. It can hold conversations, process vast amounts of information, and even boasts a robust Optical Character Recognition (OCR) feature. With these capabilities, I decided to explore the possibilities of extracting genealogical data from visual charts.
The initial test was to attempt to extract data from an image, specifically, to extract biographical data from a photo of a genealogical chart and to save that data (names, dates, places, relationships) in a format that would be useful to a genealogist, in this attempt, an Ahnentafel list (a simple list to track ancestors).
Initial Fan Chart (partial) Failure
My first trial was with an image of fan chart. As beautiful as these circular wonders are, the curved text became a challenge for our OCR endeavor. Though GPT-4V got much correct, the curved nature of the fan chart’s text near the center made it difficult for it to capture the names accurately.
The results showed promise, but were not immediately useful. And that is typical. I NEVER get a prompt perfect on my first attempt, and it often requires several iterations of prompt refinements to get the quality of result desired. You can see from the results below that the AI did fine with the text that wasn’t curved, but it had trouble with the curved text near the center of the fan chart.
I strongly suspect this failure could be fixed, but my interest last night was to quickly find a successful use case that worked on a first attempt. So I moved onto a more simple challenge: a screenshot of a pedigree chart.
Success: Pedigree Charts and the Ahnentafel System
Recognizing the limitations, I shifted focus to pedigree charts, which present data in a more linear fashion. I first had ChatGPT note the value of the Ahnentafel system, a numerical method to track ancestors; this review has the effect of giving the AI a reminder of how an Ahnentafel list might be composed. Using this system, we set out to capture data from a pedigree chart and format it in an Ahnentafel list.
Here is the prompt I used; with GPT-4V an image can also be uploaded with the prompt. The screenshot above was included with this prompt:
PROMPT: Okay, I've got a simpler chart. First, tell me what you know about the Ahnentafel naming system. Think, then, too, about how the data in an image of a pedigree chart could be extracted via OCR and placed and stored in an Ahnentafel list. Find the attached image of a pedigree chart, extract the names, dates, places, and relationships, and place and store them in a Ahnentafel list (plain text is fine).
I was very pleased with the response. No, that’s an understatement–I was blown away by the response, on a first attempt:
The good news: ChatGPT (GPT-4V) OCR can effectively interpret an image of a pedigree chart, extracting the data and storing it accurately in an Ahnentafel file while preserving the relationship information inherent in the pedigree chart. All details accurate; no hallucinations.
This is significant. Because it is a relatively trivial task to then convert an Ahnentafel file to a GEDCOM, database, spreadsheet, or text file, the information in the image is now almost ready for import into your genealogy program (RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, Gramps, etc..), Excel or Google Sheets, GDAT, Word, or simple text editor.
Data Extraction On-the-Go, with Your Phone
What’s more, you can do this on your phone! Here, with my smartphone, I took a picture of my laptop screen while a pedigree chart was displayed; GPT-4V correctly extracted the names, dates, and relationships from the photo, and then quickly presented it in a loose narrative report. The AI even picked-up on (correctly) and commented about the possibility of pedigree collapse and/or multiple relationships. All details accurate; no hallucinations. (You can see the full-size image here.)
Next Steps: More Tests; Implications; Possibilities
Next on my list: images of charts on paper, and neatly handwritten pedigree charts, etc.
Last night’s demo or proof-of-concept of extracting and saving biographical data in a genealogy-friendly format which preserves relationship information (the Ahnentafel file) from a picture or screenshot also suggests both clear implications and coming possibilities. A clear implication is that it is now much easier to get information off a printed page and onto the computer in a way that is genealogically meaningful because of the preservation of relationship information (inherently, the pedigree chart depicts who are the parents of whom, and this is captured and saved). A coming possibility suggests itself when we remember that API access to GPT-4V is coming, which means that we will be able to build apps and tools that process folders of our saved images and photos, or perhaps ask an AI assistant to do that for us.
Setting aside future possibilities, there are exciting days coming up now as we test other image use cases and work out the solutions to limits such as encountered with the fan chart. And folks will immediately find helpful this use case of converting an image of of pedigree chart to an Ahnentafel file.
Update:
If you are a ChatGPT Plus user, here is how you will know that GPT-4V has been rolled-out to your account (a process that OpenAI has said will take a couple of weeks). On your computer, tablet, or smartphone, look for a new image/picture icon near your prompt window. Here is what it looks like on a computer:
Reintroduction with Restrictions: ChatGPT Browse with Bing returns with enhanced guardrails after initial misuse concerns.
Performance Trade-offs: The updated ChatGPT Browse with Bing has more limited capabilities, affecting its speed and efficiency.
AI Interaction Tips: Engaging with AI as if it were sentient might yield better results, though it’s symbolic speech.
It’s been a busy week in AI developments: the long-awaited ChatGPT model that can see, hear, and talk began to be rolled out this week (I’m still waiting); Amazon invested $4 billion in Anthropic, the company behind Claude, ChatGPT’s strongest rival; Meta/Facebook is launching AI assistants in its messaging apps WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. And much more.
Lost for a bit in the wave of news was the return of full internet access for ChatGPT. Called ChatGPT Browse with Bing, we had full internet access for a few weeks earlier in the year, but that Beta feature was discontinued when too many folks started using the tool to scrape (copy) websites and access content behind paywalls. So OpenAI pulled the plug to reinforce their guardrails. And, boy, did they tighten things down.
For folks who had ChatGPT Browse with Bing access in the spring for those weeks, there is a noticeable drop in performance in the re-release of the Beta mode. In the spring, ChatGPT Browse with Bing allowed users to apply the full power of GPT-4 to access and process web pages. And it was very useful.
For one thing, live internet access for the chatbot means an earlier limit was overcome. With live internet access, a model can have access to information more current than its training data. That is, without internet access for most of this year, ChatGPT had no knowledge of events after September 2021 when its training ended.
That advantage and benefit is restored.
But at a cost.
ChatGPT Browse with Bing appears to have been somewhat lobotomized; it might now be operating on a fine-tuned GPT-4 model, which could explain some of its altered behavior.
First, it appears that summaries of webpages are limited to a few hundred words, about 500 tokens, probably an attempt at fair use. You can still quiz ChatGPT Browse with Bing about a webpage and eventually get the results you desire. But the process takes much longer now than it did in the spring.
Second, look at the conversation I had with ChatGPT Browse with Bing earlier today. I was able to have ChatGPT Browse with Bing successfully create a list of genealogical education events between October 2023 and through summer 2024. It got all the details correct. But it took 26 prompt refinements. Admittedly, that means it only took about five minutes to build the calendar of events. But in the spring, it would have taken much less time and effort. I suspect this extra work is related to the guardrails that were installed. (This is the only mode of ChatGPT that appears to be effected; that is, other flavors of GPT-4 remain as robust as ever.)
Third, Reddit user ry4ny speculates that OpenAI has adjusted the presence penalty and temperature settings. As ry4ny notes, these changes might occur once the browser feature is engaged, transitioning the model from a ‘normal’ chat mode to a more restricted browsing mode. They also conjecture that the model might be using specific restart texts, which could explain the consistently repetitive endings in its completions.
So, enjoy ChatGPT Browse with Bing, but know that you will need to keep working to get the results you need.
Having just said that, now is probably a good time for a couple of reminders:
just as writing means rewriting, so prompting means re-prompting (I NEVER get anything perfect on the first attempt);
the AI does not have feelings, so it won’t get frustrated if you ask it 26 times to try again–sometimes that’s what it takes; that is, don’t worry about exasperating the AI, reiterate as much as you need to get the results you want; and
weirdly, for reasons that may not be yet fully understood, although the AI is not alive, you get better results when you talk to the AI as if it were a person (they’re called chatbots for a reason).
So it’s okay to use anthropomorphic language with and about the AI. We just occasionally remind ourselves these are figures of speech.
[LANGUAGE NOTE: Anthropomorphism is a figure of speech. AIs are not sentient. They are not alive. They do not "see," they analyze images; they do not "hear," they process audio signals; they do not "think," they evaluate. But it is okay if we speak as if AIs did see, hear, and think. We use figures of speech to communicate better.]
New model eliminates hallucinations, shatters input limits, and much more
Key Points:
OpenAI’s Code Interpreter is an advanced AI model for ChatGPT, offering the ability to execute code, analyze data, generate charts, and handle files. It can also interact with genealogical data and databases, serving as a potential tool for genealogists.
The Code Interpreter helps address two significant challenges of earlier AI models: hallucinations and input limits. It operates solely on user-provided data, reducing chances of generating false information, and can handle large input files up to 100MB.
The tool demonstrates proficiency in analyzing and visualizing genealogical data, as demonstrated through the GEDCOM file analysis and creation of a timeline for family migration.
Code Interpreter can interact with personal genealogical databases such as RootsMagic, directly engaging with raw data and creating visual representations like network graphs to reveal community interconnectedness.
Despite promising results, the Code Interpreter is in its early days of assessment, and user data security remains paramount. The feature is currently available only for paid ChatGPT Plus subscribers, with further refinements and exploration of its capabilities anticipated.
Introduction
Imagine stumbling upon a powerful tool that has the potential to revolutionize your genealogical exploration, a tool that could seamlessly dive into the intricate knots of your lineage, swim through the waves of complex data, and emerge with valuable insights. Your quest to understand your roots just became a lot more intriguing with OpenAI’s introduction of the “Code Interpreter” for ChatGPT on July 6, 2023.
Designed to elevate the prowess of the already sophisticated ChatGPT, the Code Interpreter is an advanced AI model imbued with capabilities beyond mere text generation and understanding. It facilitates an interactive workspace, allowing the execution of code, analysis of data, generation of charts, editing of files, and even complex calculations. But what sets it apart, especially for genealogists and heritage enthusiasts, is its potential to help decipher genealogical data like GEDCOM files and mine through genealogical databases.
With Code Interpreter, OpenAI offers an elegant solution to two primary challenges that earlier AI models faced – hallucinations and input limits. By ensuring that the AI operates solely on the data you provide, it significantly reduces the chances of ‘hallucination,’ where the AI might generate inauthentic information. Additionally, it can handle input files as large as 100MB, if not more, far exceeding its predecessors.
In this blog post, we take a first glimpse of Code Interpreter, as we begin unpacking the features of this powerful tool, provide a preliminary evaluation of its capabilities, and discuss potential precautions to keep in mind. We’ll also present a couple of genealogical tasks it can perform, shedding light on the immediate and exciting implications of this innovative technology. It will take weeks and months to chart the limits and benefits of this new ChatGPT model, so let’s get started.
More About Code Interpreter
OpenAI’s Code Interpreter is an innovative addition to its AI tool, ChatGPT. Imagine having a smart assistant that can not only understand your requests, but can also run complex analyses, manage files, and even generate charts. All of this is done within a safe and secure environment, providing peace of mind regarding your data’s integrity. The real charm of Code Interpreter lies in its ease of use – you don’t need any programming knowledge. It seamlessly writes and executes Python code based on your needs, working like an intelligent companion in a dynamic workspace. So, whether you want to crunch numbers or organize your files, Code Interpreter empowers ChatGPT to make your interactions more fruitful, efficient, and engaging, all without you having to write a single line of code.
Use Case 1: GEDCOM Analysis
Let’s start with GEDCOM files, a common data format for genealogy enthusiasts. Before Code Interpreter, handling these files with ChatGPT required a rather tedious process of copying and pasting data – a method only feasible for smaller files encompassing a few generations. Now, though, with the ability to upload files directly to Code Interpreter, we can analyze GEDCOM data on a much larger scale. As a test, I uploaded a GEDCOM file, weighing in at 1,741 KB, with information on roughly 3,500 individuals spanning more than ten generations. A diverse family tree of this size would have been a challenge previously, but Code Interpreter took it in stride.
In saying this, I should note that it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Engaging Code Interpreter with the GEDCOM file required persistence and some workarounds. GEDCOM is a unique format, needing to be read line-by-line as opposed to being treated as a structured data container. But once I got Code Interpreter on track, it proved capable of accurately answering various queries about the data.
Fascinated by Code Interpreter’s noted proficiency in data visualization, I attempted to coax it into charting the migration of my ‘Little’ ancestors. While I didn’t manage to extract a geographical map, Code Interpreter surprised me by producing a timeline of the places where the ‘Little’ family resided over centuries. Although this initial draft may not win any design awards, the potential it holds is thrilling. With a bit of tweaking and fine-tuning, this process could transform into a powerful tool for visualizing our ancestors’ journey through time. And, even if we cannot get Code Interpreter to create a map directly, the extracted place-date data can be exported to more sophisticated mapping tools.
Figure 1: Not a failure, yet no great success, but showing great potential, ChatGPT’s Code Interpreter generated a timeline of LITTLE family locations over 300 years by extracting information from a GEDCOM file. This proof of concept took less than a half-hour with the user having no previous experience with Code Interpreter. Next step would be to refine and have Code Interpreter generate migration trail on a map.
This engagement with GEDCOM data left me curious: could Code Interpreter directly engage with a genealogical database such as RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, or GRAMPS? Exploring this question opened a whole new can of possibilities, as we’ll see in the next section.
Use Case 2: Personal Genealogical Databases
After the mixed success of navigating GEDCOM files, I decided to engage Code Interpreter with my genealogical database software, RootsMagic. Instead of treating genealogical data as a mere transportation medium between systems, I aimed to access the source – the MySQL database where information is stored. The idea was to bypass the constraints of the GEDCOM format and see how Code Interpreter would handle the raw data.
I must admit, the initial success was exhilarating. Unlike the multiple attempts required with GEDCOM, Code Interpreter connected to the MySQL database quickly and began parsing the structure with ease. The interaction felt natural, intuitive, and even conversational – an unexpected, pleasant surprise.
To maintain privacy, I didn’t upload my primary database. Instead, I utilized a smaller database I maintain, documenting the 500-odd residents of a local village cemetery, many of whom were interrelated through two centuries of intermarriage. I wanted to visualize these connections, and so I tasked Code Interpreter with creating a network graph of the graveyard’s community interrelations.
My initial request returned a promising yet somewhat chaotic result. It required some refinement to achieve a clear and meaningful visual representation. However, after a few iterations, Code Interpreter was able to produce an insightful graph. It divided the deceased into 16 distinct clusters, with one particularly large, sprawling group standing out.
Figure 2: Accessing the underlying MySQL database of a RootsMagic file, Code Interpreter generated a network graph of people buried in a cemetery.
To describe our back-and-forth, I first asked Code Interpreter to construct a network graph. We hit a couple of roadblocks early on due to overlooking some data structure intricacies and labeling issues, but Code Interpreter handled these issues remarkably well. Each misstep was met with patient re-evaluation, followed by refined attempts. As we iterated, my companion made changes according to my feedback: focusing on the largest family group, providing unique colors for each surname, ensuring that the complete data could be re-created if needed.
Despite the initial hiccup with labeling, we finally got a striking visualization. The final network graph, color-coded and clean, revealed the interconnectedness of the community in a way that tables or lists of names could never accomplish.
Figure 3: If you’ve ever wondered how people buried together in a cemetery were related to one another, ChatGPT’s Code Interpreter can quickly generate a network graph of their relationships by searching for patterns in your genealogical database, here RootsMagic.
To sum up, Code Interpreter turned a potentially tedious task into a conversational and interactive learning journey. It had its share of stumbles, but I found it surprisingly adaptable and willing to learn from its mistakes. Even though the network graph needed some fine-tuning, the process’s simplicity and potential were promising.
This successful experience with a personal genealogical database invigorated me. I am ready to push the boundaries further and explore Code Interpreter’s capability with other formats – specifically, scanned historical documents. The results, as we will see in my next post, are fascinating.
Conclusion
In our exploratory journey, we’ve found that OpenAI’s Code Interpreter for ChatGPT offers exciting new possibilities for genealogical work. We’ve witnessed it tackle GEDCOM files, interact with personal genealogical databases, and handle complex tasks such as generating visualizations, all while preserving user data security. A significant observation was that the AI did not hallucinate or make things up when only user data was provided, marking a crucial development. In addition, the input limit has been drastically increased, accommodating files as large as 100MB.
Nonetheless, these are still early days of assessment, and this evaluation is not meant to serve as a comprehensive guide. These proof-of-concept applications merely scratch the surface of what this tool can do. It’s also important to note that, at this stage, the Code Interpreter feature is only available for paid subscribers to ChatGPT Plus.
We should also remember that while ChatGPT Plus provides privacy controls, ensuring data security ultimately rests with us. We recommend turning off chat history and chat training to safeguard your genealogical data.
The future is bright, and the possibilities seem endless. We expect a flurry of new use-cases to emerge as genealogists and enthusiasts experiment with this technology. This early assessment merely hints at what’s to come. Code Interpreter is a powerful new ally in our quest to unravel the mysteries of our past, and we look forward to refining our techniques to unlock its full potential.
UPDATE: Shortly after sharing this post, Bob Coret, the creator of the “Open Archives” plugin (and a founder of the site), got in touch. The “Open Source” plugin in more impressive than my cursory exploration revealed. The plugin is more thoroughly documented at his blog post, which is linked at bottom along with further observations.
For those engaged in A.I. genealogy and digital explorations, this piece investigates a modest recent progression in A.I.-assisted genealogical research. You may already be familiar with this if you’re a seasoned researcher, but for those who haven’t encountered it yet, this post will introduce a compelling new tool. It’s particularly relevant for those interested in Dutch and Belgian archives, but the implications could extend far beyond these boundaries.
Encountering Open Archives
While exploring the digital landscape for genealogy-related plugins, I made an intriguing discovery: the “Open Archives” plugin. This tool offers a novel approach to accessing genealogical data from Dutch and Belgian archives and societies. Here’s how the plugin describes itself: “Search the genealogical data of Dutch and Belgian archives and societies via Open Archives.”
[Image 1 Caption: A glimpse of the Open Archives plugin interface.]
A preliminary test shows promising results. The plugin appears to effectively search records across these archives, providing links to found records on the original archive websites.
[Image 2 Caption: A sample prompt and response demonstrating the plugin’s capabilities.]
However, it’s worth noting that the plugin currently does not offer additional AI processing of the records within ChatGPT directly. That is, the plugin doesn’t import the record data into the chat session, a feature that could potentially add another layer of convenience and efficiency to our research.
Exploring the ChatGPT Session
To fully understand the potential of this tool, consider this: anyone can access the ChatGPT session via this link, and the returned links are live. Registered ChatGPT users can continue the chat and ChatGPT Plus subscribers can also carry on the conversation with the plugin enabled.
Beyond simply using the plugin, it’s also possible to examine the data passed to the plugin and returned by it. All you have to do is click the down arrow beside the plugin title. In this case, for example, click the down arrow next to the “Used Open Archives” label.
[Image 3 Caption: The Open Archives plugin’s ‘More Information’ button.]
The Nitty-Gritty: Structured Data
The data exchange between the user and the plugin happens in the form of JSON structured data, a widely used format that allows for easy copying out of the plugin.
[Image 4 Caption: A snapshot of the JSON prompt and response.]
The Road Ahead
While the Open Archives plugin doesn’t yet import the record data into the chat session, this pioneering tool provides a glimpse of what might be possible in the future of digital genealogical research. It paves the way for a more interactive, AI-enhanced exploration of historical records, opening up new avenues for discovery and understanding. As researchers and enthusiasts, let’s keep our eyes on the horizon for what’s coming next!
UPDATE: Shortly after sharing this post, Bob Coret, the creator of the "Open Archives" plugin (and a founder of the site), got in touch. The "Open Source" plugin in more impressive than my cursory exploration revealed. The plugin is more thoroughly documented at his blog post, which is linked below.
* Contrary to a comment in the linked article, the plugin does import record data into the chat session. In simple cases, you can ask the system for birth information (date/place) for a specific person, and then continue in a chat style by asking when the person died.
* A more complex query that can be made is "did they have children". For this, ChatGPT needs to call a specific function using a unique identification (GUID) of a marriage certificate.
* Another impressive query is "how old was {name}". For this, ChatGPT makes two requests to Open Archives (for birth and death records) and calculates the person's age.
* Bob Coret has documented his experiences with the plugin in more detail in a blog post, which is written in Dutch but easily translated to your first language.
https://blogbob.coret.org/2023/06/open-archieven-als-plugin-voor-chatgpt.html
I. Introduction: The Power of A.I. Genealogical Prompt Chaining
Welcome to the fascinating world of AI applications, where the dynamic use of language models continually expands our capabilities and insights. Today, we venture further into this realm to explore an exciting concept: prompt chaining.
Prompt chaining is a powerful tool that taps into the versatility of AI, enabling us to extend the utility of a single interaction by linking it to subsequent prompts. In essence, it is a relay race of information processing where the output of one AI operation serves as the input to another. This chain of operations harnesses the potential of AI to process, generate, and analyze data in a seamless flow, creating opportunities for multi-faceted inquiries and sophisticated data manipulation. Most simply, prompt chaining is using the response from one A.I. interaction as the prompt for a following interaction.
Our exploration of prompt chaining builds upon the foundations we established in previous blog posts. We delved into structured data extraction from narrative sources, shedding light on how we can extract valuable insights from complex texts. In another post, we introduced ChatGPT plugins, an innovative extension of OpenAI’s powerful language model, GPT-4, which further enhances its capabilities.
Today, our journey takes us to a fascinating intersection of these concepts. We aim to illustrate how prompt chaining can be effectively combined with the “Show Me” diagramming plugin for ChatGPT. This plugin translates textual relationships into illustrative diagrams, providing a visual representation of the relationships extracted from narrative sources.
However, a quick but important caveat before we proceed: the advanced features we’ll be discussing, including the “Show Me” plugin, require a subscription to ChatGPT Plus. While the primary value of this subscription lies in gaining access to the latest and most powerful iteration of the language model—GPT-4—the plugins definitely add a delightful layer of functionality, the proverbial icing on the cake.
This post will introduce and develop an understanding of prompt chaining. Building on a general definition and description of prompt chaining, four cases studies will be considered to sharpen our imagination of how prompt chaining will evolve as the number of A.I.-assisted genealogical use cases (tasks) grows.
Most simply, prompt chaining is using the response from one A.I. interaction as the prompt for a following interaction.
A.I. Genealogy Insights
II. Background Information
The “Show Me” diagramming plugin is an innovative tool integrated with OpenAI’s language model, ChatGPT. It’s designed to help generate visual diagrams based on user inputs. With this plugin, users can request ChatGPT to draw diagrams, flowcharts, or even family trees. Its applications are broad, making it a versatile and practical tool for visual learners, project managers, educators, and in our case, genealogists.
To fully appreciate the potential of the “Show Me” diagramming plugin and how it can be utilized in genealogical research, it’s essential to familiarize oneself with some of our previous posts. These articles delve into the practical applications of AI in genealogy, and specifically, how ChatGPT can be utilized to extract and organize valuable information.
The article “AI and Genealogy: Using ChatGPT to Glean Info from Obits, Articles, and Announcements” provides a comprehensive exploration of how ChatGPT can extract genealogical information from text sources like obituaries, wedding announcements, and newspaper articles. The post demonstrates how the AI can be prompted to identify relationships between individuals, create markdown tables of this information, and even generate GEDCOM files, which can be used to create family trees.
Another key post to review is “Using ChatGPT Plugins for Genealogy“. Leveraging ChatGPT Plus plugins can substantially enhance artificial intelligence-assisted genealogy. These software add-ons customize ChatGPT for genealogical research, with the AskYourPDF plugin as a key example. This tool allows for interaction with PDF files, extracting crucial data from scanned records or historical articles. These plugins automate tasks and interact with digital resources, increasing efficiency and insight in genealogical research, symbolizing the promising future of AI in genealogy. The plugin used extensively in this post, the “Show Me” diagramming plugin, is also introduced in that earlier blog post.
Those two previous posts provide a solid foundation for understanding how AI, and more specifically, ChatGPT with its plugins, can revolutionize genealogical research. As we move forward today, we will explore how the “Show Me” diagramming plugin, in particular, can provide a visual dimension to relationships.
You know the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” That saying is never more true than in genealogy–relationships are hard for others to understand when presented only as a stream of names. Seeing a diagram of the relationships among people–a family tree or a pedigree chart–is a tremendous aid to understanding. Visually presenting relationships helps us communicate our research and findings in a way that others are more easily able to understand. The “Show Me” plugin empowers genealogists to use A.I. to generate charts, diagrams, and family trees from textual, natural language descriptions.
The advent of A.I. plugins, however, in early summer 2023 is just developing from infancy to early childhood. My research and experience during this season is that many plugins have great potential, but currently exhibit significant shortcomings. Specifically, the “Show Me” plugin demonstrated extensively in this post would currently received a grade of “C-” but with the expectation that this will, for reasons I will explain below, improve soon to a useful “B+”.
Finally, before we jump into the case studies, a brief preview and explanation. The last two case studies involve research as genealogists might typically conduct: the consideration of an earlier researcher’s work and the examination of an obituary. The first two case studies, however, use as their subject matter fictional places and people. This was done for several reasons. First, readers are likely to be familiar with one or both of the peoples and places in these first two case studies. Second, the people and relationships offered by these fictional examples are extensive, allowing for a better presentation of the principles being demonstrated. And finally, third, well, it was fun. I pray these first two fictional examples won’t distract any readers so much as to inhibit their ability to see the underlaying processes at work. That said, let’s jump into the case studies.
III. Case Study 1: Complex Family in “One Hundred Years of Solitude”
“One Hundred Years of Solitude,” a widely acclaimed novel by Gabriel García Márquez, offers a fascinating exploration of the Buendía family over seven generations in the fictional town of Macondo. The intricate relationships and complex family dynamics in this novel make it an ideal case study for demonstrating the capabilities of ChatGPT and the “Show Me” diagramming plugin in handling complex genealogical data.
To begin, we would need to extract the relationship information from the text. This process involves identifying and understanding the connections between the various characters in the novel. With the assistance of ChatGPT, this is made significantly easier. By providing the AI with a well-crafted prompt, we can instruct it to sift through the text and identify the relationships between characters, as well as the events that bind them together.
For example, a prompt may be constructed as follows:
PROMPT: Assume the role of an expert, professional genealogist. Consider the genealogically relevant information that might appear in the novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude". I would like to know about the stated relationships between characters in the text. When you can with certainty, state the relationship between two characters in the book. Extract names and relationships from "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and present that information in a way that the next AI, a diagram-generating AI, can use your information, in turn, to create a family relationship visualization.
ChatGPT, with its impressive language processing capabilities, then extracts the relationship information and organize it. [NOTE: In this example, I did not feed the entire novel to ChatGPT to process. In all the following examples and case studies, however, the A.I. is restricted to using only information that I provide to it.]
The response did not look enough like a prompt for the next AI, so I prompted ChatGPT to refine its response. As we have noted before, just as “writing means re-writing,” so working with A.I. is often an iterative, refining process; that is, we don’t often get things perfect on the first attempt, so try, try again, until you get what you need.
The refinement looked like a great prompt for the “Show Me” plugin. So, once we have this relational data, we can use it to create a prompt for the “Show Me” plugin to generate a visual representation of the Buendía family tree. The next prompt, then, could look something like this, which is just an exact copy-and-paste from the last response:
"SHOW ME" PROMPT: Show me a family tree for the Buendía family from "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez using the following relationships:
1. José Arcadio Buendía is married to Úrsula Iguarán. They have two children: Aureliano Buendía and José Arcadio.
2. Aureliano Buendía is married to Remedios Moscote. They have a daughter named Renata Remedios, also known as Meme.
3. José Arcadio is married to Rebeca. They have a son named Arcadio.
4. Arcadio is married to Santa Sofía de la Piedad. They have three children: Remedios the Beauty, Aureliano Segundo, and José Arcadio Segundo.
5. Aureliano Segundo is married to Fernanda del Carpio. They have three children: Renata Remedios (also known as Meme), José Arcadio (II), and Aureliano (II).
6. Meme is married to Mauricio Babilonia. They have a daughter named Renata Remedios, also known as Renata.
7. José Arcadio (II) is married to Renata. They have a son named Aureliano (III).
Please note that there are multiple characters named Aureliano and José Arcadio in the family, so make sure to differentiate between them in the family tree.
The result would be a detailed diagram illustrating the family relationships of the Buendía family. This visual representation, built on the foundation of meticulous data extraction and AI processing, allows us to easily understand and analyze the complex familial dynamics present in “One Hundred Years of Solitude”.
Sharp-eyed readers will here observe why I currently graded the “Show Me” plugin as a “C-“. Notice that spouses are not placed on the same row or level as their partners, but instead are one level below with the children. There are work-arounds and solutions to this problem (some easy, as noted below), but users should be aware of this issue in the spring/summer of 2023. Both the “Show Me” plugin and the other diagramming plugins available in the ChatGPT plugin store rely on a graphic tool called “Mermaid“; Mermaid is great for many, many uses, but it is, obviously, not created primarily to generate family trees. The developers of Mermaid, though, are working to explicitly add family tree diagrams to the tool’s repertoire. As I mentioned, though, there are work-arounds currently available, and every diagram that is generated is easily editable with a link that is included with every chart.
So, that shortcoming acknowledged, do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. What ChatGPT and the “Show Me” plugin did, even though not perfect, is still fairly amazing. In about three-and-a-half minutes, the genealogically relevant information was extracted from a 440 page novel and transformed into a family tree. The implications of this process are significant. Not only does it provide a visual aid for understanding complex relationships in literature, but it also has the potential to be a valuable tool in fields such as education, history, and of course, genealogy. By making it easier to visualize and comprehend complex familial relationships, the “Show Me” plugin enhances our ability to extract deeper meanings and insights from texts. Moreover, it demonstrates the potential for AI to transform how we approach, engage, and understand large bodies of text.
IV. Case Study 2: Tolkien’s Universe
The second case study, as I mentioned, also draws from the world of relationships in literature. I’m no Tolkien-head, so it was a bit unusual for a “Lord of the Rings” post to appear in my social feed. I’ve enjoyed the movies and read a couple of the books, and I know just enough to have heard that Tolkien is often credited with developing a literary universe. So when glanced at the article in my feed, I quickly noticed that it would lend itself nicely to this demonstration of chain prompting data extraction and data visualization. Tolkien’s universe offers a compelling backdrop against which we can further demonstrate the potential of prompt chaining with ChatGPT and the “Show Me” diagramming plugin.
The article I stumbled across was rich in relationships between people and, well, something else. So, whether you’re navigating the familial ties of the House of Elrond or tracing the lineage of the Dwarven clans, Tolkien’s works are filled with complex genealogical data that could be readily extracted by an AI. To begin this process, we would again need to construct a suitable prompt that instructs ChatGPT to identify and delineate the relationships between the various characters within Tolkien’s universe.
A sample prompt might look like this:
PROMPT: You are a professor of literature with deep expertise in science fiction and fantasy. Find below an article about Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" universe. As if you were a genealogist, I want to map, chart, diagram, or in some way visualize the relationships between creatures and characters in the article. Please suggest how that might BEST be done, then attempt to do whatever you can do to visualize the relationships, even if it's not the best possible way imaginable.
ARTICLE:
Lord of the Rings: What Does Sauron Look Like Under His Armor? It's Complicated
https://www.cbr.com/lord-of-rings-what-sauron-really-looks-like/
Guided by this prompt, ChatGPT would then delve into the texts and extract the necessary relationship data, organizing it into a structured format for easy interpretation and analysis.
With the relationship data in hand, we can then feed this information into the “Show Me” plugin to generate a diagram that visualizes these connections. This might involve creating a new prompt such as:
"SHOW ME" PROMPT: Show me a diagram of the lineages and relationships in Tolkien's universe using the following relationship data.
TEXT:
I gathered a lot of information on the cosmology and beings of Tolkien's universe, which can serve as a basis for creating a diagram or chart to visualize the relationships between the creatures and characters in the "Lord of the Rings". Here are the main points:
[COMPLETE DESCRIPTION FOLLOWED]...
The result? A comprehensive and easily digestible diagram that visually represents the complex relationships in Tolkien’s universe. This visual aid can be a powerful tool for understanding and exploring the intricacies of Tolkien’s rich lore, making it accessible and engaging for both seasoned fans and newcomers alike. It should not take too much imagination to see how this process is analogous and applicable to genealogy.
Furthermore, this case study underscores the potential of prompt chaining with AI in enhancing our understanding of literature. By enabling us to visualize complex relationships and lineages, the “Show Me” plugin can bring to life the rich tapestry of connections that form the backbone of our favorite family history stories. In this way, we can unlock deeper insights and appreciation for the families that we love, showcasing the immense potential of AI as a tool for genealogical analysis and exploration.
V. Case Study 3: Family Biographical Sketch
As we transition from literature to a genealogical context, let’s move into the realm of family biographical sketches. These sketches are rich sources of family history, often containing detailed information about relationships, life events, and personal narratives that can be invaluable in genealogical research.
In this case study, we’ll explore how a family biographical sketch can provide the data needed for prompt chaining and how this approach can bring the intricate web of familial relationships to life. In this example, it took me about six minutes to take a photo of a book page with my phone, extract the text from the phone, then use ChatGPT 4 to extract the relationship information from the text, and finally have the “Show Me” plugin generate a family tree diagram.
Family biographical sketches typically provide in-depth information about a family, including relationships, dates and locations of important events, occupations, and sometimes even anecdotes that give unique insights into the lives of our ancestors. These sketches, while rich in information, can sometimes be challenging to navigate due to their narrative format and the sheer volume of information they contain.
Here’s where prompt chaining with ChatGPT and the “Show Me” plugin can prove invaluable. By directing ChatGPT to extract the genealogical data from the biographical sketch, we can transform the narrative data into a structured format, ready for visualization.
The initial prompt could be framed like this:
PROMPT: You are an expert genealogist and the world's best prompt engineer. Find below an excerpt from a genealogical text. Your response will be passed to another AI which is capable of creating a diagram of family relationships. Extract information about people and relationships. Interpret that information and use it to craft a prompt for the diagramming AI. Your response should be in the form of a prompt for the other AI.
EXCERPT:
THE AMBROSE PARKS LITTLE FAMILY
The earliest known ancestor of the numerous Littles in Ashe County is Isaac (ca. 1800-1892).
[BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH CONTINUES...]
The results…
Once the relationships are extracted, the data can be fed into the “Show Me” plugin with a prompt like this:
"SHOW ME" PROMPT: Based on the provided genealogical text below, show me a diagram representing the reported relationships. Combine Husbands/Wives into one node; for example "Isaac Little married Elizabeth Poe" is one node, and the parents together of their children.
GENEALOGY:
1. The earliest known ancestor is Isaac Little (ca. 1800-1892), who married Elizabeth Poe, daughter of Mathias and Sarah (Grimsley) Poe. Isaac and Elizabeth had thirteen children, including Ambrose Parks Little.
[GENEALOGY CONTINUES AS SHOWN ABOVE...]
The resulting diagram brings clarity to the complex relationships described in the biographical sketch. This visual representation of family connections can be an invaluable tool for genealogists, making it easier to understand and trace familial relationships across generations. Note the instruction in bold in the prompt; this is the work-around to get the “Show Me” plugin to place mothers and fathers on the same row, line, or level in a family tree diagram; for now, they need to be treated as one unit, that is, as the parents together. Again, this deficiency will be addressed and remedied in time. Advanced users may want to note that the Mermaid scripting language is easily accessible and configurable for every diagram that the “Show Me” diagram generates.
Furthermore, it highlights the power of prompt chaining in a genealogical context. By transforming narrative data into structured, visual representations, we can unlock a new dimension of understanding in our family history research. This case study serves to showcase how the combined power of AI and genealogy can enrich our understanding of our past, bringing our ancestors’ stories to life in a compelling and accessible way.
VI. Case Study 4: Obituaries
Continuing in our genealogical context, let’s turn our attention to obituaries, a commonly used but often underappreciated resource in genealogical research. Obituaries are a treasure trove of information, offering insights into the lives of our ancestors, their relationships, and their place in the community.
In this case study, we’ll explore how obituaries can provide valuable data for prompt chaining and how this method can bring new insights to genealogical research.
Obituaries are unique in their ability to encapsulate the essence of a person’s life, including their family ties, accomplishments, and legacies. However, the narrative format and sometimes cryptic language used in obituaries can make extracting this information a challenge. This is where AI, particularly ChatGPT, can step in.
To initiate the process, we would provide ChatGPT with a prompt to extract relevant information from an obituary. The prompt could be framed as:
PROMPT: You are an expert genealogist and the world's best prompt engineer. Find below an excerpt from a genealogical text. Your response will be passed to another AI which is capable of creating a diagram of family relationships. Extract information about people and relationships. Interpret that information use it to craft a prompt for the diagramming AI. Your response should be in the form of a prompt for the other AI.
OBITUARY:
Mrs. Houck, 53, Buried Saturday
Funeral service was held on Saturday at 11:00 a.m., at the Bethany Church, for Mrs. Annie Houck, 53, of West Jefferson, who died at her home on Thursday, January 20, after being ill for some time. The service was conducted by Rev. R. G. Wagoner and Rev. T. J. Houck, and burial followed at the Bethany Cemetery.
Mrs. Houck, who was a native of Ashe County, the daughter of Jacob Goodman and Sarah Tatum Goodman, is survived by her husband, James Houck, and the following children: Mrs. Dora Howell, Todd; Fay, Agnes and Jessie D. Houck; Phil Houck, of the U.S. Army, stationed in South America, and J. C. Houck, Jr., of the Navy, stationed in Maryland.
The data extracted by ChatGPT can then be used to create a prompt for the “Show Me” plugin to visualize these relationships:
"SHOW ME" PROMPT: Based on the provided genealogical text below, show me a diagram representing the reported relationships. Combine Husbands/Wives into one node; for example "Annie Goodman married James Houck" is one node, and the parents together of their children.
Based on the provided genealogical text, please create a diagram representing the following relationships:
1. Mrs. Annie Houck, born as Annie Goodman, was the daughter of Jacob Goodman and Sarah Tatum Goodman. She was married to James Houck.
2. Annie and James had six children: Mrs. Dora Howell; Fay Houck; Agnes Houck; Jessie D. Houck; Phil Houck, who is in the U.S. Army, stationed in South America; and J. C. Houck, Jr., who is in the Navy, stationed in Maryland.
Please represent these family relationships, including marriages and offspring, in the family diagram.
The resulting diagram provides a visual representation of the relationships gleaned from the obituary, offering a unique perspective on the family structure and relationships of the deceased.
The value of this approach in genealogical research is manifold. Not only does it allow for the efficient extraction of valuable information from obituaries, but it also presents this information in a clear, visual format that can aid in understanding complex family relationships and in tracing lineages. It demonstrates the power of prompt chaining in unlocking the potential of obituaries as a source of genealogical data, bringing us one step closer to the stories of our ancestors.
VII. Conclusion
Looking forward, the potential of prompt chaining is immense. As the capabilities of AI tools like ChatGPT continue to expand, the possibilities for prompt chaining grow exponentially. The fine-tuning of the diagrams provided by the “Show Me” plugin, for instance, could lead to more nuanced and detailed visualizations of data, further enhancing our understanding of complex information.
Every week, we witness the introduction of new use cases – data extraction, translation, optical character recognition (OCR), narration, and diagramming, among others. With each new task that AI can handle, the potential combinations of prompt chaining multiply dramatically, broadening the horizons of AI-assisted endeavors, such as genealogy. This continuous growth in AI capabilities underscores the increasing relevance and power of prompt chaining.
In the present, we manually chain or link prompts, carefully curating the sequence to accomplish our specific goals. Yet, we can envision a future, perhaps not too distant, where AI agents will not only suggest optimal task combinations but also carry out complex workflows seamlessly, further reducing the manual effort and increasing the efficiency of achieving more intricate goals.
I invite all readers to dive into this fascinating world of AI-assisted research. Try out the “Show Me” plugin and experiment with prompt chaining. The journey may challenge your understanding of what AI can do and inspire you to imagine new ways to harness its power.
We would love to hear about your experiences, discoveries, and insights in this area. Please share your results in the Comments section below. Remember, every experiment, every question, every insight adds to our collective understanding of this powerful tool.
Here’s to the continued exploration of AI’s potential, and to the remarkable power of prompt chaining!
What they are, where to get them, why use them, and how to use them: Using the AskYourPDF plugin as an in-depth example
I. Introduction: Plugins: What, why, where, & how
[NOTE: For clarification: the plugin features discussed in this post require a ChatGPT Plus subscription. At $20/month, you gain access not just to GPT-4 with its advanced functionalities – of which plugins are merely an additional advantage – but to an AI model that vastly outperforms GPT-3.5 and others like Bard, Claud, etc. Trying GPT-4 offers an incredible opportunity to unlock the vast capabilities of AI that you might not be fully utilizing yet. While plugins are a welcome bonus, GPT-4 is truly the star of the show. In other words, no one is paying $20 for plugins–it’s GPT-4 that’s worth the cost.]
Welcome to a fascinating exploration at the intersection of artificial intelligence and genealogy. If you’re a genealogist or a family history enthusiast, you are likely always on the lookout for tools that can aid in your research, streamline your workflow, and unlock new insights. Today, we’re going to delve into a resource that may be new territory for many: ChatGPT and its versatile plugins.
ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is a highly advanced language model trained on a diverse range of internet text. But what does that mean for you? Well, in simple terms, it’s like having a tireless research assistant that can generate human-like text based on the prompts you provide. It can answer questions, write essays, summarize text, and even generate creative ideas — all in the blink of an eye. It’s a tool that has been making waves in many fields, from education to business to creative writing, and it is beginning to assist the world of genealogy.
In this blog post, we’re going to introduce you to the world of plugins designed for ChatGPT Plus. We’ll explore what a plugin is, why it’s beneficial for genealogists, and how to enable, install, select, and use a plugin. We’ll also showcase some plugins that will be of particular interest to genealogists, and provide a more in-depth introduction to the AskYourPDF plugin, a tool that could prove invaluable in your research. So, whether you’re a seasoned genealogist or a beginner just starting your journey into your family’s past, join us as we explore the new frontier of AI-assisted genealogical research. The future of genealogy is here, and it’s incredibly exciting. Let’s dive in!
Essentially, a plugin is a piece of software that adds new features or functionality to another program.
II. What is a Plugin for ChatGPT Plus
In our digital age, the term “plugin” is quite common, but let’s pause a moment to ensure we all understand what it means in the context of ChatGPT Plus. Essentially, a plugin is a piece of software that adds new features or functionality to another program. Think of it as an accessory or an add-on that enhances the base product. In this case, the base product is ChatGPT Plus, and plugins are designed to augment its abilities, tailoring it to better fit your specific needs.
Now, you may be wondering: “What kind of enhancements are we talking about?” The beauty of plugins lies in their diversity. Some plugins are designed to give ChatGPT Plus new abilities, like parsing specific data formats or interacting with certain databases. Others are designed to improve the quality of the AI’s output in specific contexts, like technical writing or poetry composition. And some plugins, like the AskYourPDF plugin we’ll discuss later, can provide a seamless interface between ChatGPT Plus and other software or data sources.
For genealogists, plugins for ChatGPT Plus offer an opportunity to tailor the AI to better suit the unique needs of genealogical research. They allow you to push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI assistance, and help you leverage the vast capabilities of ChatGPT Plus in new and exciting ways. With the right plugins, you can transform ChatGPT Plus into a specialized tool for genealogical research, a tool that can save you time, streamline your research process, and help you unearth insights that might otherwise have been missed. In the following sections, we’ll explore this in more detail, providing a clear guide on how to use these plugins and highlighting some of the most valuable ones for genealogists. Stay with us as we journey further into the world of ChatGPT Plus plugins. It’s a world full of potential, and we’re excited to help you discover it.
PRO TIP: The AskYourPDF plugin not only allows you to search in, extract from, and chat with(!) a PDF document, but it can also access PowerPoint (.ppt and .pptx files), Excel and Google Sheets spreadsheets (.csv files), ebooks (.epub files), and Word and Google Docs documents (.rtf files).
A.I. Genealogy Insights
III. Why? The Value of Plugins for Genealogists
In the world of genealogy, every piece of information, no matter how small, can potentially be the key that unlocks a new understanding of your family history. The search for these pieces often involves sifting through vast amounts of data, from online records to old letters to scanned documents. This is where plugins for ChatGPT Plus can bring significant value.
Plugins can enhance the capabilities of ChatGPT Plus in ways that are particularly beneficial for genealogical research. For instance, some plugins are designed to improve the AI’s ability to understand and generate text in specific contexts. These can be incredibly helpful when you’re trying to interpret old documents written in outdated or specialized language. With the right plugin, you could ask ChatGPT Plus to explain what a certain phrase means or to provide a modern language paraphrase of an old letter.
Other plugins can help ChatGPT Plus interact with specific databases or digital resources. This can save you considerable time by automating some of your research tasks. Instead of manually searching through an online database for records of a certain individual, you could ask ChatGPT Plus, with the right plugin, to do it for you. You could even ask it to summarize the findings or highlight the most relevant details.
Let’s consider a specific example: the AskYourPDF plugin. This plugin allows ChatGPT Plus to interact with PDF files, a common format for many digital resources used in genealogical research. With this plugin, you can ask ChatGPT Plus to extract information from a PDF, such as the names and dates mentioned in a scanned census record or the key points from a lengthy historical article. This can be a huge time-saver, allowing you to focus more on interpreting the information and less on finding it. As we delve deeper into the realm of ChatGPT Plus plugins, it becomes clear that these tools hold great potential for genealogists. By automating tasks, interpreting complex language, and interacting with a range of digital resources, plugins can make your genealogical research more efficient and insightful. They are valuable tools in the modern genealogist’s toolbox, and we’re excited to help you explore them further.
In a moment, we will explore how to use the AskYourPDF plugin, but first we’ll talk about who can use this plugin, where to find it, how to install it, and how to activate it for use.
All ChatGPT Plus users now have access to plugins but they may not know that because plugins are considered a “beta” feature that are not enabled by default; that is, all ChatGPT Plus users can access plugins by enabling that beta feature.
A.I. Genealogy Insights
IV. How to Enable plugins, Install, Select, and Use a ChatGPT Plugin
Ready to dive into the world of plugins? This section will guide you through the process of enabling, installing, selecting, and using a plugin with ChatGPT Plus. Before we get started, it’s important to note that plugins are currently a beta feature. This means you’ll need to enable beta features in your OpenAI account settings.
Here is a step-by-step guide to get you started:
1. Enable Beta Features: Log into your OpenAI account and navigate to your account settings. Look for a section titled “Beta Features” and check the box to enable them.
Open ChatGPT and navigate to the settings by selecting your name in the bottom left corner.After opening the menu by clicking the dots next to your username, click “Settings” and look for the radio buttons to enable “Beta features.”After clicking “Settings,” use the radio buttons to enable “Plugins.” While you are here, go ahead and enable “Browse with Bing,” which will empower you to use ChatGPT to browse the internet and answer questions about recent topics and events.
2. Access the Plugin Marketplace: Once you’ve enabled beta features, you can access the plugin marketplace. This is where you can browse available plugins, read descriptions, and see user reviews.
To access the Plugin store or “Marketplace,” ChatGPT Plus users can click the “GPT-4” tab, opening the drop-down menu, and selecting the “Plugins Beta” model (the version or flavor of ChatGPT you wish to use).
After selecting the Plugins Beta model, select “Plugin store” from the drop-down menu.
3. Install a Plugin: When you’ve found a plugin you’d like to try, select it to see more information. You’ll see an “Install” button on the plugin’s page. Click this button to add the plugin to your ChatGPT Plus. Currently plugins are free, but only three plugins can be “active” at any one time.
In the Plugin Store, you can search names and descriptions of plugins. Search for “pdf,” and several plugins with PDF capabilities will surface in the results. Currently, our tests indicate that “AskYourPDF” is the strongest plugin for working with PDFs. Click the “Install” button to add the plugin to your list of accessible plugins. Currently plugins are free, but only three plugins can be “active” at any one time.
4. Select a Plugin: Once you’ve installed a plugin, you can select it for use. Although you can install any number of plugins, only three can be “active” at any one time. Of the active plugins, ChatGPT will select the most appropriate plugin as ChatGPT determines. PRO TIP: Because ChatGPT determines which active plugin to use, we often keep only one plugin active, forcing ChatGPT to use that plugin. Go to your ChatGPT Plus interface, and look for a dropdown menu labeled “Plugins.” This menu will list all the plugins you’ve installed. Select the plugin you want to use from this list.
Select a Plugin: Once you’ve installed a plugin, you can select it for use. Although you can install any number of plugins, only three can be “active” at any one time. Of the active plugins, ChatGPT will select the most appropriate plugin as ChatGPT determines. PRO TIP: Because ChatGPT determines which active plugin to use, we often keep only one plugin active, forcing ChatGPT to use that plugin.
5. Use a Plugin: With a plugin selected, you can now use it in your interactions with ChatGPT Plus. The exact way you use a plugin will depend on its specific features and capabilities, so it’s a good idea to read the user guide or documentation that comes with each plugin.
Remember, each plugin will have its own unique features and methods of interaction. Some plugins may provide additional tools or options within the ChatGPT Plus interface, while others might enhance the AI’s responses to your prompts. PRO TIP: Don’t be afraid to experiment and explore the functionality of each plugin. In the next section, we’ll take a closer look at some plugins that are particularly useful for genealogists. Whether you’re looking for assistance with document interpretation, database queries, or another aspect of your research, there’s likely a plugin that can help. Let’s continue our exploration!
V. Suggested Plugins for Genealogists: AskYourPDF, Wolfram, Show Me, BlockAtlas
As a genealogist, the intricate task of tracing lineage and family history can sometimes feel like solving a complex puzzle. Fortunately, there are some innovative ChatGPT plugins designed to make your research more efficient, more accurate, and ultimately more fruitful. In this section, we’ll introduce you to three such plugins: Wolfram, Show Me, and BlockAtlas. We’ll explore their features, advantages, drawbacks, and specific applications for genealogical research. Please note, information about the AskYourPDF plugin will be discussed in detail in the next section.
1. Wolfram Plugin
The Wolfram plugin is a powerful computational tool that enhances ChatGPT’s capabilities in several fields. Originally designed for use in disciplines such as mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, and geography, this plugin can also be a valuable tool in genealogical research.
Features and Uses: The Wolfram plugin can answer complex queries and provide visualizations and real-time data. In genealogy, this could be leveraged to analyze demographic data, calculate generational intervals, and provide visual representations of complex family trees. Additionally, the plugin’s strength in geography can assist in understanding the geographical distribution and migration patterns of your ancestors.
The Wolfram plugin doesn’t merely guess the next most likely word like a large language model, but rather enhances ChatGPT’s abilities with accurate computational reasoning and symbolic AI. Plugins can augment the capabilities of ChatGPT, allowing it to perform computations, deliver curated knowledge and data, and even create visual diagrams. However, they work in conjunction with, rather than replacing, the core language generation functionality of ChatGPT.
Pros: The Wolfram plugin offers improved accuracy and focus in responses compared to the standard ChatGPT model. It can handle complicated questions, providing a more streamlined response without overwhelming you with excess information.
Cons: The Wolfram plugin’s core strength lies in computational tasks and scientific fields. Although it can be significantly beneficial for genealogical research, this is not its primary function.
The Wolfram plugin doesn’t merely guess the next most likely word like a large language model, but rather enhances ChatGPT’s abilities with accurate computational reasoning and symbolic AI. Plugins can augment the capabilities of ChatGPT, allowing it to perform computations, deliver curated knowledge and data, and even create visual diagrams. However, they work in conjunction with, rather than replacing, the core language generation functionality of ChatGPT.
2. Show Me Plugin
The “Show Me” plugin for ChatGPT Plus users allows the model to create diagrams using Mermaid JS, a JavaScript-based diagram and flowchart generating tool. This plugin is used to visualize data in a variety of graph formats.
Given the plugin’s ability to create diagrams, genealogists might use it to:
Visualize family relationships in the form of pedigree charts or family trees. These could outline ancestry and descent, helping to clearly see familial connections.
Create descendant charts to map out the offspring of a particular individual or couple.
Generate family group sheets that summarize vital information about a specific family, including the parents and their children, along with dates and places of birth, marriage, and death.
Develop family outline reports, which could be used to sequentially list each child in a family and their respective families.
Produce other types of diagrams that might be useful for genealogical research, like timelines or geographical maps.
Please note that these are potential uses inferred from the general capabilities of the “Show Me” plugin and the typical needs of genealogists. The actual possibilities would depend on the specific features and limitations of the plugin, and how well it integrates with genealogical research methods and tools. We were able to confirm the “Show Me” plugin’s ability to use the definition provided by Wolfram to create the diagram of between a person and their third cousin’s great-grandchild (or third cousin, three times removed).
3. BlockAtlas Plugin
ChatGPT now includes a plugin called “BlockAtlas” which lets you use the AI to question US Census data, or, at least for now, a limited set of US Census data, the American Community Survey since 2005.
ChatGPT now includes a plugin called “BlockAtlas” which lets you use the AI to question US Census data, or, at least for now, a limited set of US Census data, the American Community Survey since 2005.
VI. A Deep Dive into the AskYourPDF Plugin
Navigating the expansive landscape of genealogical research often requires the ability to extract and process information from an array of sources, including PDF documents, text files, spreadsheets, presentation slides, and other documents. The AskYourPDF plugin, designed to work seamlessly with ChatGPT, is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance your ability to work with PDF files, and many other file types, including TXT, CSV, PPT, PPTX, EPUB, and RTF files.
1. Detailed Overview of the AskYourPDF Plugin
The AskYourPDF plugin is an ingenious tool that enables ChatGPT to analyze PDF documents with enhanced capabilities. But what does this mean in practice? This plugin can examine a PDF document, suggest changes, extract pertinent information, and even provide a summary of the document’s content. What’s more, it can be used to search through a lengthy PDF document to find specific pieces of information, saving you precious time and effort.
Security Note: It’s important to exercise caution when using online tools for analyzing sensitive documents. There are websites claiming to offer AI PDF analysis for free, but they may have ulterior motives. For this reason, it’s recommended to only use the AskYourPDF plugin via the ChatGPT prompt window on the official OpenAI website to ensure the privacy and integrity of your documents.
2. How the AskYourPDF Plugin Can Be Used in Genealogical Research
In genealogical research, the AskYourPDF plugin can prove to be a game changer. With the ability to analyze, summarize, and search through PDF documents, it can streamline the process of data extraction and interpretation. For example, if you have a lengthy historical document or a family record in PDF format, this plugin can swiftly sift through it to find relevant names, dates, and events.
Furthermore, if you’re dealing with a large collection of archival documents, the AskYourPDF plugin can help you extract and organize key information, making it easier to trace familial connections and build comprehensive family trees. The ability to quickly locate specific information in voluminous documents also means you can spend less time on manual search efforts and more time on interpreting and connecting the dots in your genealogical research.
3. Tips and Tricks for Getting the Most Out of the AskYourPDF Plugin
Be Specific in Your Queries: When asking ChatGPT to find information in a PDF using the AskYourPDF plugin, be as specific as possible. For instance, if you’re looking for a particular name or event, specify it clearly in your query. This will make the search more effective and yield more accurate results.
Leverage the Summary Feature: If you’re dealing with a long document and want a quick overview, ask ChatGPT to summarize the PDF for you. This can help you grasp the main points and decide whether you need to delve deeper into the document.
Because of the vast potential of this plugin for genealogists, additional research and posts are coming.
VII. Conclusion
As we draw to a close on our exploration of ChatGPT and its plugins, let’s take a moment to revisit the key points we’ve covered.
We started by introducing ChatGPT Plus, an advanced artificial intelligence model capable of engaging in intelligent and meaningful conversations. We learned that plugins are added tools that can enhance the functionality of ChatGPT Plus, providing additional features and expanding the range of tasks it can perform.
The value of these plugins in genealogical research came into focus, illustrating how they can streamline the research process, simplify data analysis, and allow for more efficient exploration of family histories. We also provided a step-by-step guide on how to enable, install, select, and use these plugins, thereby equipping you with the knowledge needed to integrate these tools into your research practices.
The OpenAI ChatGPT “Plugin Store” is not the only place to find plugins. There is a third-party site that offers a superior way to find ChatGPT plugins: WhatPlugin.ai.
Special thanks to a Facebook group “Genealogy and Artificial Intelligence” member for this tip.
We dove into the world of plugins that are particularly useful for genealogists, offering a brief overview of several notable ones. We then took a closer look at three top recommendations: Wolfram, Show Me, and BlockAtlas, explaining their specific features, pros, cons, and uses. This was followed by an in-depth exploration of the AskYourPDF plugin, illustrating its utility in analyzing, summarizing, and searching through PDF documents, a common requirement in genealogical research.
The journey through the capabilities and potentials of ChatGPT plugins hopefully has shed light on how these tools can become valuable allies in your genealogical quest. However, this exploration is far from exhaustive, and the full potential of these plugins can only be realized when they are put to use.
We encourage you to take these insights and explore the plugins further, integrating them into your research methods and tailoring their use to your specific needs. Each plugin brings its own unique set of capabilities, and the right combination of plugins can significantly enhance the scope and efficiency of your genealogical research. Remember, the journey of discovery does not end here. As you continue to work with ChatGPT and its plugins, you’ll undoubtedly find more ways they can aid your genealogical pursuits. Let your curiosity guide you, and let these tools empower your quest for deeper understanding of your family’s history.
