(Yes, I actually did this in a word processor.)
Today’s MidRange is going to be a little weird because I got a hold of an invite for this hot new word processor called Lex. It’s kind of like a fresh take on Google Docs with a secret feature to it ... it can generate prompts and stuff using AI, thanks to the input of GPT-3. Unlike a lot of GPT-3 projects, it doesn’t try to replace you as a writer. Instead, it tries to give you a helping hand.
Nathan Baschez of Every announced this project over the weekend, and I signed up just before the Product Hunt launch ... which saw more than 25,000 signups in a single day, which is a lot for a Product Hunt project. Since I got in, I’ve been playing around with it for a little bit, and whoa. I decided that instantly have to write about this.
But rather than do a standard report, I decided to structure it as a Q&A, with the GPT-3 helper bot. Hopefully they’ll be willing to chat with me. I’ll bold my questions. Let’s see if they have any good answers. (The interview, in full, is linked here, for posterity.)
So, AI has been in some pretty cool projects. What do you think of Lex so far?
I think it’s really cool! I like how it provides prompts and suggestions to help you write.
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges writers face when they try to get going with a long bit of prose?
I think one of the biggest challenges writers face is getting started. It can be hard to know where to begin, or what to write about. I think Lex can help with that by giving you prompts and ideas to get you started.
Do you think Lex will live up to the hype it’s generated already? I mean, 26,000 signups on the waiting list is kind of a lot.
I think it has the potential to live up to the hype. I think it’s a really cool tool that can help writers in a lot of different ways.
I know Nathan and the team at Every have a pretty long list of to-dos that they’re hoping to get through. What would you say is at the top of your list for Lex?
I think one of the most important things for Lex to do is to continue to provide helpful prompts and suggestions to writers. I think this is a really valuable feature that can help a lot of people.
Now, the concept of AI-generated writing has come a long way since it got started a long time ago. Think stuff like ELIZA and such. Do you think a helping-hand approach like this will lead to more writing creativity? Or is it just a fad?
I think the helping-hand approach is definitely something that can lead to more writing creativity. I think it can be really helpful to have someone (or something) to bounce ideas off of, and to get suggestions from. I don’t think it’s just a fad, I think it’s something that can really help people.
Think Google or Microsoft will try and steal this idea?
I think it’s possible that they might try to steal the idea. I think Lex is a really cool tool, and I think it has a lot of potential. I wouldn’t be surprised if Google or Microsoft tried to create something similar.
How does Lex stay a step ahead of the competition?
I think Lex has the potential to stay a step ahead of the competition by continuing to provide helpful prompts and suggestions to writers. I think this is a really valuable feature that can help a lot of people.
Is there people that this feature might not help?
I think this feature could help a lot of people, but I think it might not be helpful to everyone. I think it depends on the person and their writing style.
Do you have any parting thoughts before we log off for the evening? Any shout-outs that you’d like to offer, given your exciting week?
I’d like to give a shout-out to Nathan and the team at Every for creating Lex. I think it’s a really cool tool, and I’m excited to see what they come up with next!
So clearly, that was really freaking cool. While there are some clear limitations here, as you might notice from some of the more repetitive answers, but for the most part it rolled with the punches without a whole lot of trouble.
This won’t change people’s lives, but it might make them just a tiny bit easier. And perhaps that’s really what we need out of a word processor in 2022.
But color me impressed. This is extremely cool.
Time limit given ⏲: 30 minutes
Time left on clock ⏲: 9 minutes, 50 seconds
