Can ChatGPT diagnose this car?
Watch Wes Work is a YouTube channel where Wes films himself fixing cars. In a recent video, Wes used ChatGPT to diagnose problematic engine codes. The video demonstrates the utility and boundaries of generative technology, which was once valuable and banal. Valuable because generative artificial intelligence details various engine codes and supports Wes in troubleshooting the car’s problems. Banal because the car would only get fixed with Wes’s knowledge of car maintenance and ability to operationalize sometimes vague instructions.
What I found most interesting about the video is that Wes says “I think” at least eight times (0:28, 5:36, 7:26, 10:31, 11:19, 16:18, 19:19, and 22:07). I think that the “I think” part of Wes’ demonstration is a required element of generative technology. If (for example) your business does TV/VCR repair, then training and deploying a language model to diagnose medical conditions doesn’t make your team doctors. Instead of training and deploying a language model, you must train your repair staff to be doctors.
Wes’s frequent use of the phrase “I think” during his video underscores the necessity of human thought and engagement when interacting with generative technology. This observation is a potent reminder that while AI has immense potential, it does not, and arguably cannot, replace the human elements of understanding, intuition, problem-solving, and decision-making. Instead, AI should be considered a tool, augmenting and aiding human expertise rather than replacing it. The utility of AI rests not in making us redundant but in supporting our work and amplifying our capabilities.
The video demonstrates that technology, represented here by ChatGPT, is a tool that relies heavily on human expertise for practical application. Just as a language model cannot transform a TV repair team into doctors, the same tool cannot replace Wes’s mechanic skills; it merely supplements them. Ultimately, the value and effectiveness of generative technology rest in the hands of the human user, a testament to our irreplaceable capacity for insight, judgment, and understanding.
